Endless Wisdom
by John Riehle
Summary: Kim has a date with Erik, and Ron is in desperate need of some guidance. Who would have thought he'd get it from one of the Endless! Crossover with Neil Gaiman's Sandman series
1. Endless Wisdom

Author's Note: Kim Possible and all related characters are the property of Disney. The Endless are property of Neil Gaiman, who is in fact god, and thus owns us all.

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_Before we begin our tale, it is essential for me to introduce you to the family of beings known as the Endless, assuming the term 'family' can even apply to beings such as them. They have no common parents, for they do not even have parents. They were not born of the same blood, for in truth, they were never really born. They came into existence as the universe itself did._

_The Endless are not gods, though some of them have been worshiped accidentally as such. They are not good or evil, though some of them could certainly be appreciated as being nicer than others._

_They simply are the Endless, and but the youngest of them is as old as the universe itself._

_The Endless represent different aspects of creation. They do not embody or personify these aspects, they simply are these aspects. When the universe ends and these aspects no longer exist, then so too, will the Endless cease to exist. Until that day, the Endless are, in order of age:_

_Destiny: The oldest of the Endless, Destiny appears as a blind man in grey robes. Whether or not Destiny is truly blind, or whether he can perhaps see the intricate patterns of existence itself is a matter that will likely never be settled, for mankind is only barely able to appreciate what the Endless truly are. Manacled to Destiny's arm is a book, and in this book is all the universe. All that ever was, is, and will be is contained within the pages of this book. Worlds long since dead and not yet born are described in every detail, no matter how small, within this book. Destiny does not write this book, he merely keeps it. The book is for the eyes of Destiny only, and he keeps his secrets._

_Death: Of all the Endless, perhaps Death is the most misunderstood, the most mis-represented of all of them. Death is not some cruel destroyer of worlds, nor some malevolent skeleton dressed in dark robes wielding a scythe, nor one of but four horsemen heralding the end of times. Death is simply Death. She appears as a young, attractive, pale skinned woman with dark hair, and an ankh, her symbol, around her neck. Death is not only with us at the end of our lives, but also at the beginning, though only she remembers these visits. She does not take us to some place of judgment where our eternal fate is decided, she merely takes us. It is said that once every century, for a single day, Death takes mortal form so that she might better appreciate the life that she takes from mortals and what it means to be mortal._

_Dream: Now there is an imposing figure. It is said that Dream, of all the Endless, is the most conscious of his responsibilities, the most dutiful to them, save only his older brother Destiny, and that Death is far kinder than him. Dream appears as a rake thin man with dark hair and pale white skin, often draped in deep blue robes. Dream is closest with his sister Death, though in truth, Dream is far from 'close' with anyone. Perhaps Dream is the most tormented of all Endless by mortals, for time and time again, he has sought companionship, and even that thing we might call love, with them. Yet each time have the relationships ended rather disastrously, which for an Endless, especially Dream, is not an exaggeration. Dream rules over the realm of dreaming, where creatures only found in our dreams reside, and stories never finished or written except in our minds can be read._

_Destruction: Perhaps it is unfair to still classify Destruction as one of the Endless, for he abandoned his post and duties long ago. Destruction appears as a large, younger man with red hair and a beard, his skin a much more natural appearing color than that of his brothers and sisters. Destruction was once the most favored of the Endless among the Stars, for it was through him, that they were able to bring light into the universe. However, Destruction has in him a love for creativity, for building things, which is tragic given his nature, and the fact that he has little talent for such things. He has since been known to roam the Earth with his younger sister, Delirium at his side._

_Desire: Despair's twin, Desire is neither a man, nor a woman, and yet both, and to look at Desire is to long for him/her, painfully, to the exclusion of all others. Of all the Endless, Desire is perhaps the most cruel, a fact which has put him/her at odds with his/her brother Dream. It is impossible to describe the appearance of Desire in such a manner as to do it justice, save only for his/her deep yellow eyes. Desire is everything that you have ever wanted, no matter who you are._

_Despair: Queen of a realm filled with tiny windows hanging in the void, each of which showing a different scene, a mirror in our own world. It is in this way that Despair is able to look back at you through your own reflection and you would feel her gaze catch upon your heart. Despair appears as an unattractive, fat, naked woman, her skin clammy and her eyes dark and gray, like the color of a gloomy cloud hanging over the world._

_Delirium: Ah, now there is a tragedy, for Delirium was once a carefree, confused, innocent, blonde haired child known as Delight. However, that was a long time ago, and while Delirium is still confused and carefree at appearance, she no longer truly seems as innocent. Her realm is one of madness. Only a few mortals have ever visited it, and none of them have been of wit or sound mind to recall anything of verifiable import. She appears as a small child, despite the fact that she is older than the suns themselves, with a deep emerald eye and a deep blue one, her hair short, almost shaven, her clothing almost gothic._

_These are the Endless. In truth, you will likely never meet one in your life, but imagine, if you could for one day, gain their council?_

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Our story however, does not focus on the Endless, for how could one even presume to tell only a single tale of the Endless? They are far beyond mortal's ability to conceive. No, instead we draw our focus to two mortals.

"So, prom with Erik was a big hit huh?" Ron Stoppable asked, struggling to sound, if not interested, at least supportive of his best friend.

"Yeah." Kim Possible assured, almost half heartedly. "Erik and I walked in and the whole gym just burst into applause and cheer. Music playing, couples dancing, Bonnie off in the corner, sulking; it was unreal." For some reason that Kim couldn't articulate, her tone of voice did not seem to mesh with her words. Kim was describing what should have been the greatest triumph, both of her super hero career, and her high school experience. Instead of being proud of her accomplishment as one might expect, she seemed like she was trying convince someone other than Ron that she was proud of it like one might expect.

"Sounds badical." Ron forced down the urge to choke on his own words. "So, what's on the agenda for KP and her perfect BF today?"

"Well… Erik wanted to take me to the Middleton fair this afternoon. It closes tomorrow, so I guess he wanted to get it in before having to wait another year." Kim explained somewhat uncomfortably, finding herself less enthusiastic about this day as she explained it.

"Sounds badical. Try not to have too much fun." If Kim could have seen the look on Ron's face as he spoke, it would have cracked her heart. Ron gave silent thanks that Kim had elected to catch up with him the night after prom over the phone. If she had actually come over and looked him in the eyes with those perfect green… no. He couldn't have survived something like that.

"Ron, come with us." Kim's request sounded more like a desperate plea than the friendly offer that she was hoping to pass it off as, and it caught her by surprise, which she struggled to hide as she caught herself. "I mean, I've been so distracted with Erik lately, we could take the time to catch up."

"Appreciate the offer KP." Ron's heart had nearly jumped at the request, and it had taken all of his force of will to wrestle it back down into submission. "But I think three is definitely a crowd in this case. We can catch up later."

Kim's spirits fell into the gutter, yet her voice tried to remain hopefully as she forced out the reply "Yeah, ok."

"Well, I probably better let you go KP. If you and Erik want to beat most of the lines at the fair, you better get going before ten. I'll call you tomorrow."

The pair said their simple good byes and hung up.

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Ron felt himself lay back in his bed, being dragged down by the weight of his heart. Spending a day with Erik and Kim at the fair, watching the two of them lock eyes; stare at each other dreamily, no. There was no way he was going to subject himself to that anymore. He had had enough of that. He couldn't survive any more of it.

The truth was that, in spite of the breath of fresh, warm air that blew in through his window, inviting him outside, Ron wanted nothing to do with the waking world. He seemed perfectly content to just stay in his room, in bed, and hide from the real world. It had suddenly become a cruel, inhospitable place that he wanted nothing to do with anymore.

Kim Possible, his best friend, and the one person it had taken him over a decade of his stupidest years in his entire idiotic life to realize that he cared for in ways far deeper and more powerful than any mere friend, was in love… with the perfect guy.

It was as if some cruel demon had taken all the models and teen lists from all the teen magazines in the world, and from them, crafted this cruel torment in the form of Erik to take the best thing in his life away from him.

Ron couldn't fault Erik though. After all, Erik was a perfectly nice, polite guy… and that thought made Ron all the more upset. Erik was wonderful. Ron knew how it worked. With that stupid smile of his, he could make any girl weak in the knees, while the only chance Ron ever had of making a girl look at him twice was if he had ninety eight billion dollars sticking out of his pocket.

So of all the girls in Middleton, why did this cruel, evil, perfect little pretty boy have to go and pick his best friend, the one good thing that he had going for him, and sweep her off her feet?

He couldn't face a world that wouldn't even let him have this one thing to himself. He wouldn't. Let the world go on about its way, Ron would have nothing to do with it for today.

As if in response to Ron's decision to remain indoors for the rest of the day, his stomach growled loudly, betraying his intentions.

Ron just sighed, realizing that his stomach had power of attorney over his legs as he felt himself moving out of bed to change, silently hoping that some Bueno Nacho would lift his spirits.

He somehow doubted it.

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Kim fell back into her pillows with a sigh, feeling very alone and small for some reason. As she looked outside, she could see the sun shining high in the air. The refreshing breeze that blew through her windows and over her face screamed that this was a day to be spent outside and that was exactly what she was planning to do. A perfect day outside with her perfect boyfriend.

This would be fun. She and Erik would hold hands, lock eyes, share a shake or two, kiss again… and somehow, somehow, Kim saw that as being the full extent of her day, and it left her feeling very incomplete.

Kim's troubled mind took her back to the night before. She and Ron had beaten Drakken, saved the world, and rescued Erik. Ron had decided to head home while she and Erik had driven off to the prom for what should have been the best night of her high school life.

And certainly, even Kim couldn't argue that it had appeared that way from an external perspective. Kim and Erik had entered together, only to receive a thunderous applause from all those present in the gym. Erik had smiled warmly at Kim as she turned to look at him, and it had made her heart flutter at the time.

All celebration aside, it was time for dancing. Sure enough, the DJ had carefully selected a slow song as a means of relaxing away the tensions of the evening. Kim had found herself eagerly melting into Erik's tender grasp as they moved out onto the dance floor. Erik looked so handsome, so picture perfect, he seemed almost too good to be true. Kim felt herself almost wishing, daring even, Bonnie to challenge the acceptability of her boyfriend. _Go ahead,_ she thought. _Let someone try to tell me I haven't hit the jackpot._

As the mood relaxed and the moment seemed so perfect, Kim's lips moved towards Erik's, the two accepting one another so readily. And that was when it had happened.

Nothing.

Not one thing.

Zero.

Zip.

Nada.

No fireworks. No warm explosion in Kim's inner being. Her blood didn't rush to her face, her knees didn't feel weak. For whatever reason, the kiss seemed so… plain. It was almost like the kind of thing that might casually pass between two family members instead of the prom's picture perfect couple.

Kim's mind reeled to account for this even as she struggled to hide the awkwardness of the moment. Something wasn't right. She must have done something wrong, she thought to herself. The music was right, the setting perfect, the two were certainly dressed for the occasion, all plasma burns aside, and as every high school teenager knew, that was the night. Yet something didn't click.

Kim eventually dismissed it as fatigue after an exhausting night. She tried to move past it as she continued dancing with Erik, even keeping him on the floor after he expressed a desire for some punch. Kim felt that perhaps more time was needed. The moment was coming; she just had to be patient. If she stayed in his arms, then surely everything would fit into place like it was supposed to.

Instead, the opposite happened. Kim felt her fluttering heart settle itself into an uncomfortable and uneasy beat, Erik's warm touch no longer seemed so warm or inviting or even wanted on her skin, and the more she looked into his eyes, the more she felt like she was staring at a picture or poster of some distant, anonymous model instead of a boyfriend.

The evening went downhill from there. Dancing seemed more and more like a responsibility or duty instead of the evening's pleasure, and Kim felt herself counting down the seconds till Erik could take her home. She'd always imagined herself dancing in the arms of her date until well after the dance had let out. Instead, she had convinced Erik to take her home a few minutes early.

Erik had obviously sensed the growing tension between them and had suggested the Middleton fair as a way to hopefully patch things up without the excitement of battling super villains and killer robots to ruin the mood. Looking back, Kim realized that she had only agreed as a way of ending the evening.

The truth was that right now, she really didn't want to have anything to do with Erik. It wasn't that she was angry at him or anything. It was just… ok she didn't know what it was. All the more reason why she wanted to talk to Ron.

She felt flustered at the idea of explaining that her perfect boyfriend wasn't perfect enough. That, after all the excitement of finding a guy who simply couldn't be any dreamier, any more ideal, he simply wasn't what she wanted and she didn't have the first clue why not.

Now, the morning after what was supposed to a picture perfect evening, Kim's heart and mind seemed to be in a shouting match over the whole idea, and Kim found herself caught in the middle. She was hoping that she could talk to Ron aside while she spent the day at the fair, keeping her half hearted promise to Erik. Perhaps get a new perspective if she just laid it all out for her best friend. For some reason, Ron Stoppable had a gift for seeing things at their most… simplest.

For Ron, everything was either black or white. Good or bad. Nacos or monkeys. In many ways, she envied that about him.

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Ron stared apathetically at the tray of cheese covered delicacies arrayed before him. He had gone for the double super size, desperately hoping to gorge his problems out of body and mind. Instead, he had filled himself just enough to satisfy the grumbling of his stomach, allowing his tiniest friend, Rufus, to finish off the leftovers with a ravenous fury.

Ron could only let out a sigh. It seemed it was all he had the strength for. Once again, he desperately sought out the motivation to move, and found none.

He looked across the booth to the empty seat in front of him and found himself longing for a very familiar, friendly face to speak to. He could almost picture her in her lime green tank top and blue denim pants with her warm smile sitting opposite him as she had so many times in the past.

Ron finally found the motivation to get up and leave. His memories were tormenting him as they adjusted with recent ones to fill in where Erik would sit, directly next to her, the two lost in each others eyes.

As he moved for the door, Ron was so disheartened, that he failed to watch where he was walking, or who he was walking into. Therefore, he found himself just as surprised as his target as he crashed right into a female voice, sending the both of them stumbling backwards.

"Ouch!" The female voice cried.

"Ooh! My bad, I am so sorry, I wasn't looking. It's my… bad." Ron felt his breath fade away as he caught sight of the woman before him. She was dressed in black pants with a black tank top, her skin pale white. A strange symbol on a pendent dangled around her neck, waving in the air as she collected herself. Ron estimated her to be in at least her late twenties.

"No problem. I'm kinda off today myself." She explained, her smile never wavering in the slightest. Ron could not help but feel a connection immediately, as if this complete stranger was somehow intimately familiar to him. He knew that he had never met her before in his life, yet was convinced that he should know who she was.

"Uh... hi. I'm Ron." Ron explained somewhat uncomfortably, in spite of a total sense of ease that seemed to over take him as he extended his hand outward.

"Hi Ron. I'm… you can call me Didi." The woman seemed a little nervous as she introduced herself, but it quickly faded as she took his hand. She felt so warm to the touch, her eyes so relaxing.

"Didi?" For some reason, Ron knew that that wasn't right. Never the less, he dismissed it as he asked the burning question on his mind. "Do I know you? I know I haven't seen you around, I'm pretty sure I'd remember you."

Didi just smiled. "Oh, I get around. Not today though. Today is my day off. I don't mind telling you I don't get much time off, so I plan on making the most of it. So, what is there to do around here anyway?"

Ron was caught off guard by the casualness of the question. He suddenly found himself recalling childhood warnings about speaking to strangers. Yet feeling perfectly at ease around this complete stranger, he cursed his tongue as he heard himself say "Well, the Middleton fair is open till tomorrow."

"Great. Let's go." With that, Didi casually wrapped her arms around Ron's as she took him in tow.

"What? Me?" Ron stuttered as he struggled to keep up.

"Sure. Why not? You look like a guy who knows how to show a girl a good time." Didi smiled as if she was teasing along an old friend as she spoke. "Besides, I rarely get a chance to just sit down and speak to someone in my line of work, and it'll be fun."

"Wait. What? Hold on…" Ron's fatigued mind felt like he was pacing through a dream as he spoke, trying to keep up with this strange woman. "How do you know what I'm like?"

"I've got a sense about people. Never wrong. Trust me." Didi explained confidently.

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"Wow, this is pretty…"

"Badical?" Kim finished.

"Actually, I was going to say 'amazing.'" Erik corrected, failing to notice the slight disheartenment that crept along Kim's features, as he was too busy taking in the sights.

The Middleton fair really was a sight to behold. Its size and scope made it seem more like an actual amusement park than a city sponsored event. Still, with impressive contributions from numerous local industries over the years, including the Space and Medical centers, the Middleton fair was quite a spectacle. Everything from full blown rides to games to countless other distractions.

Kim found herself recalling back to times spent with Ron. As little kids coming here with their families, the pair had managed to get themselves lost amongst the crowds only a few minutes after their arrival, as Ronnie could not be restrained, even by little Kimmie, from seeing some of the sights without bothering to wait for his parents. Yet little Ronnie wouldn't let something so trivial as being separated from the mature adults distract him from a good time, especially not with his best friend at his side, as he eagerly went on every ride or attraction that would permit someone of his height. As much as responsible young Kimmie had insisted on the need for them to find their parents, she too found her worries and cares eventually swept away by the thrill of the rides and the day spent with just her best friend at her side.

At the end of the day, the pair had both received strict lectures from both sets of parents about wandering off alone and not scaring their parents ever again. That hadn't stopped them from riding home with satisfied, almost triumphant grins on their faces.

Now, Kim found herself with a young man who seemed to feel more and more like a stranger to her. Kim felt Erik's hand reach out, taking her own gently. She looked to see his gentle smile, and returned a polite smile of her own, even as she tried to think of some excuse to free her hand from his.

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"Are you sure you want to be here?" Ron asked, even as shelled out the cash to pay for their tickets. It seemed that Didi didn't carry any cash on her, so of course Ron was given the honor of covering the difference.

"It's been a while since I was at one of these and had a good time. The last one I went to, some guy had a heart attack after over pushing himself at one of those hot dog eating contests." Didi explained.

"Oh man. Poor guy." Ron offered.

"Couldn't really stay for much after that." Didi explained simply, even as she enthusiastically rushed over to a carousel, Ron struggling to keep up with her.

"Aren't you a little old for one those?" Ron asked with a wry smile, amazed that any girl older than five would ever choose that as their first activity of the day.

"Older than you think." Didi insisted confidently "and let me tell you, you're never too old for a carousel." She giggled even as she rushed anxiously onto one of the wooden horses. Ron felt himself caught up in her enthusiasm, even to the point of smiling for the first time all day as he hurried up on top of the fixed horse next to her.

The carousel music began even as Ron felt the ride beneath him start. Didi shouted in excitement with several other smaller children on the ride, laughing almost immediately as the ride began to pick up speed. Sure enough, her high spirits were infectious, as Ron felt himself laughing the whole time with her.

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"You hit the clown?" Didi burst, laughing loudly the whole time as Ron recounted his previous experiences.

"I didn't hit him, I just… sorta… gave him a new look. He carried an umbrella with him after that. But I learned my lesson, no heavy meals before rides. Now, I'm a walking fortress of fortitude." Ron admitted proudly, poorly suppressing a wide grin.

"Shut up." Didi laughed, playfully slapping Ron's arm even as she cuddled tightly the overstuffed bear that Ron had won for her. "For a fortress of fortitude, you were looking a little dizzy after that carousel."

"Says the girl who nearly fell off her horse trying to get off." Ron countered, even as Didi pretended to look off in the distance innocently.

"It's been a long time since I was on one of those." Didi admitted quietly.

"Oooh, there, there." Rufus consoled from atop Didi's shoulder, having taken perch there quite comfortably. There was something about Didi that Rufus liked… really liked.

"Thanks Rufus." Didi replied appreciatively as she gave the mole rat a kiss on his tiny cheek. "At least someone is on my side."

"Traitor." Ron shot.

In response, both Rufus and Didi stuck their tongues out simultaneously, spitting their righteous raspberries at him.

"So, what next?" Ron asked anxiously. "I'm kinda hungry, and the midway usually serves up a mean barbeque."

"Ron?"

The voice from behind nearly froze Ron Stoppable in his tracks. He found his chest seize him tightly, his heart beating at such a pace that it seemed like it might burst through his ribs.

"KP!" Ron almost shouted the words.

"Kim?" Rufus looked up in surprise.

"Hi Ron." Erik greeted politely, even as he caught up with Kim. In truth, he had had to sprint in order to catch up with her after Kim took off at the sight of Ron.

"I-I thought you weren't coming." Kim's voice was soft, almost hurt.

"He wasn't." Didi interjected, as she stepped between the two. "I kinda dragged him here." She explained as she extended her hand. "Call me Didi."

"Kim Possible." Kim took the strange woman's hand, even as she eyed her warily. She had to be at least thirty years of age, and that skin. She seemed so out of place amidst all the bright, exuberant colors of the fairgrounds. "Ron, do you know this woman?" Kim turned back to her best friend.

"You know, I'm really not sure." Ron admitted truthfully.

"It's my day off." Didi explained. "I was just looking to relax, and thought Ron here would be fun to hang out with. And he's been such a gentleman." Didi insisted, even as she gave him a friendly hug, oblivious to Kim's gritting teeth.

"Well, if you guys are here, you want to hang out with us?" Erik offered. "Just the four of us. We could probably conquer some mean rides together."

"We…we could do that." Kim agreed, hopefully.

"Oh no." Didi insisted, cutting Ron off before he could say anything. "We don't want to impose on you two. You're obviously in the middle of your day; we don't want to drag you with us."

Ron could feel himself try to express a thought or two to the contrary. Instead, he was held prisoner by Didi's eyes as she looked at him, smiling innocently the whole time.

"It's no bother, really." Kim assured softly, even as the ire from her threatened to vaporize Didi right on the spot.

"It's cool KP." Ron heard himself say, failing to note the look of shock on Rufus' face. "We'll let you two go. We'll catch up later tonight. I'll call you." Ron kicked himself, even as forced his worst fake smile ever.

"Well, guess that's that." Didi added brightly, even as she took Ron's arm back in her own as she waved off. "So long. By the way, Erik, be sure to wait for the green walk light."

Erik wore a look of confusion on his face as he tried to appreciate the reason for such an odd statement, or for that matter, whether or not he had even told her his name.

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"Mmm. Oh, you weren't kidding about the barbeque." Didi exclaimed delightedly as she licked her fingers clean of her third set of ribs. She and Ron had picked a nice spot under the trees to grab some lunch. For the second time today, Ron found himself not very hungry in spite of the mouth watering meal arrayed before him.

A jab at Ron's side attracted his attention down towards a pink, upset face. Rufus eyed Ron squarely, a look of fierce disappointment in his eyes as the naked mole rat silently demanded an explanation for the same thing that had been bugging Ron.

"Didi…" Ron finally built up the courage to speak. "why couldn't we hang out with KP? I mean, she offered…"

"No, her boyfriend offered." Didi reminded without even bothering to look up.

"Hoo, but… Kim!" Rufus exclaimed pleadingly.

"Well, what about her?" Didi asked innocently.

"What about her?" Ron repeated the question incredulously. "Well, she's smart, gorgeous, and funny, has an amazing voice, she's… well she's just the most amazing person I've ever met."

"Ok." Didi replied simply before finally twisting the knife and driving the point home. "Did you ever tell her that?"

Ron's jaw dropped wide open, possibly in desperate hopes than an answer would provide itself. Instead, the sound of Ron's throat aching to speak heard.

"Hoo… busted." Rufus let out as he seemed to deflate every bit as much as Ron.

"I knew it, I knew it!" Didi exclaimed triumphantly. "And, I think I know why she's here with her boyfriend and not you." Didi offered humbly. "Now if I'd let them tag along with us, she'd be holding her date's hand, and it would be sheer torture for you every step of the way, which in turn would ruin my day off, and that is simply not an option. This way, she can see just how green the grass really is and you can take some time to clear your head."

For a moment longer there was silence as Ron processed Didi's explanation.

"Is it that obvious?" Ron finally asked, defeated.

"It's written all over your face." Didi smiled warmly as she reached out to take his shoulder in sympathy. "You've got it baad." Didi offered sympathetically.

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"I can't believe this. Something's not right." Kim insisted, fumingly, even as she and Erik remained in line for a ride that didn't appear to have too long of a wait.

"Well, this is taking a little longer than you would think, I wonder if…"

"He'd never go to the fair with some complete stranger. And the way she was dressed!" Kim went on, oblivious of Erik's misdirected observation.

"Oh, that." Erik noted, realizing he was treading on dangerous territory. "Well, I don't think she's going to hurt him. I mean, if she wanted to, I really don't think she'd take him to a public fair." He offered.

"Oh please. You saw her, that skin color, those clothes, that ankh around her neck. She's got to be a member of some sort of sick cult. They probably have some kind of hidden ritual temple underneath the fair ground!" Kim felt her blood pressure rising with each passing moment, finding it more and more difficult to stand still. "We've got to warn him."

"Whoa, whoa." Erik placed his hands around her arms to catch her even as she attempted to march right out of their place in line. "Come on now. Don't you think you're over reacting? Ron's a tough guy; he can take care of himself."

"So?" Kim turned to look at Erik with a look that made the young man fear for his physical well being. "That doesn't mean I'm going to sit back and let that freak have her way with him!"

"'Have her way with him?' Who ever said anything about that?" Erik tried to maintain his firm grip on reason, hoping he might even tether Kim with it as well. "Look, if you like, we can try to find them again after this ride, just to check up on him." He offered hopefully. "Just, try to relax till then."

Kim took a deep breath, much to Erik's relief, before beginning "Ok. One ride, then we go make sure he's ok." Kim reiterated.

"Deal." Erik forced a smile as he leaned down, his lips gracing hers yet again. As they met, it happened again… nothing.

Once again, Kim struggled to hide her disappointment behind a weak smile as she turned away, supposedly in the direction of the moving line that they waited in, even as her mind and heart began their internal dispute once again, all concern for Ron now a thing of the past.

What was she doing wrong? Even after all this time, there were still no fireworks between them. Not like when…

_Oh you can't be serious!_ Her subconscious began. _You can't want to think about… that… now!_

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"Kim's the best thing that's ever happened to me." Ron explained with no uncertainty, looking down into the grass bitterly. "And now that she has a smokin' new BF, she doesn't need her best friend around anymore."

Rufus let out a small whimper as he patted Ron's side sympathetically.

"Why don't you just tell her how you feel?" Didi asked.

"I… I can't." Ron insisted, silently cursing his own cowardice. "She'd never go for a dork like me, and it would totally ruin our friendship. I can't take that risk. If there's even a chance of salvaging what's left of our relationship, I can't risk losing that by telling her about my stupid feelings."

"Ron…" Didi paused as she prepared her words. "What if I told you that you were going to die tomorrow? What would you do then?"

"Yeah, right." Ron just chuckled lightly at the cliché.

"Ron, look at me." Didi insisted, her voice taking on a disturbing tone. As Ron looked up into Didi's eyes, he saw no trace of humor within her, leaving him feeling incredibly awkward.

"You're serious?" He asked in a hushed whisper.

"Suppose I am." Didi maintained a narrow gaze directly at his eyes, her eyes never once breaking their lock. "What would you do? Would you tell her then?"

Ron took a deep gulp before pondering the question further. "I guess so."

"So what are you waiting for?"

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"Are you ok?" Erik asked upon noting the flustered look on Kim's face.

"I'm fine." Kim averted her gaze to avoid meeting his eyes.

_Oh, I can't believe this! You're on the perfect date with the perfect guy and you want to think about the time you kissed your best friend under the influence of some sicko emotional remote thingy?_

Kim found herself longing for some open space, suddenly being aware of just how close together she was with all the other people in line, and cursing the uncomfortable intimacy of the situation. Still, the thought had crossed her, and she couldn't hide from it.

_Fine, you want to think about it. Ok. So you had some psycho chip attached to you and it made you crush on your best friend. It's only because he was the first warm body you saw besides your brothers and your mother. Big deal._

Kim couldn't dismiss the truth of her subconscious, but neither could she dismiss the memory of how wonderful it had really felt at the time.

_Of course there were fireworks; you were under the influence of a machine that flipped through your moods faster than the tweebs with the remote control for the cable!_

Kim's mind moved past that experience to the memory of their kiss under the mistletoe in the North Pole. As light hearted and friendly as it had been meant to be, it was also… sweet.

_Ok, so that was… nice._

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"You see Ron, and this is something my brother could explain a lot better than me, but he gets out even less than I do, the universe is all about choices. Some people think it's just the choices that we have to live with that matter, but there's also the choices that you have to die with that matter, cause both of them stick with you. Suppose you waited till your death bed to tell Kim how you felt, and then she ended up feeling the same way. You'd hate yourself for not having told her earlier, and for having blown your only chance. Death is forever Ron Stoppable, but you only get one chance at life."

Ron's eyes narrowed intently at the young woman sitting on the grass before him. Her eyes were so sure, so confident. She spoke about the nature of the universe with utter assurance. There was experience in her tone. He finally had to know.

"Who are you? Really?"

Didi just smiled as she took one of Ron's spare hands, guiding it towards the ankh that dangled from her neck.

"I'm the reason life has meaning." And with that, she brought Ron's fingers to clench around the ankh, and he saw… everything.

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Kim felt the wind rush out of her sails. Oh god, she felt like such an idiot. After so much time spent trying to determine whether or not she had found the perfect boyfriend, she failed to consider whether or not she had found the perfect boyfriend for her!

Kim kicked herself hard as she came to a series of uncomfortable conclusions about herself, the most obvious being that she wasn't as smart as she had once thought herself.

Another was that she owed Erik an explanation which she didn't really have. Still, he deserved to hear it, and it was something that couldn't wait.

"Erik, we need to talk."

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"Wow." Ron finally spoke at last. In just an instant, he had seen so many things, been to so many places. It wasn't knowledge; it was a kind of comprehension, a level of almost instinctual understanding that came over him. "So you're… you're really…"

"Yeah. I am." She answered softly. "You're not weirded out, are you?"

"This… is…so… badical!" Ron announced enthusiastically. "I can't believe that I was going to spend today in bed!"

She just laughed at his declaration, smiling widely at him the entire time.

"Wait, what you said earlier…" The color nearly faded from Ron's face all at once. "Am I really…?"

"Nah." She answered simply.

"Oh, good." Ron took in another breath, before fidgeting again as he looked at her uneasily. "So, do you know when…?"

"Don't ask me that." Her response was not cruel, or angry, yet it was strict and unapologetic.

"Why not?" Ron asked, thoroughly confused.

"Ron, if I told you that you had exactly fifty seven years, three months, two days, seven hours and five minutes to live, you'd waste every second of that time counting down how many seconds you had left instead of enjoying the time that you've got. Believe me, I've seen it before and you're better off just letting it happen whenever it's going to happen. Don't get so distracted by death that you forget about life."

Ron paused for a moment to reflect on her words, before his mind naturally returned to the one subject that had been on his mind the whole day.

"So, do you really think I should talk to KP?"

"Ron, I've had to separate a lot of couples who couldn't see that they were right for each other until it was too late. And let me assure you, if I'm separating you two, then it's too late. I can't tell you for sure what will happen if you tell her, it might be that you're right and it will come between you. The only person who could know for sure is my brother, and I can already promise you he won't talk. But I do know that if she does feel the same way, and you don't tell her how you feel until it's too late, you'll spend the rest of eternity punishing yourself. Life is short Ron, relatively speaking, so make the most of it."

Ron stopped again to think on her words. As he did, he noticed her as she stood up.

"Where are you going?"

"Well, you've got a lot of thinking to do, and this is still my day off. I'm going to take in some more of the sights while I've got the time."

"Ok, well enjoy the rest of your day. And listen… thanks. For everything." Ron smiled appreciatively at her as she walked off.

"Forget it." She smiled. And with that, she was gone.

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"I'm sorry." Kim repeated as she looked into Erik's eyes.

"It's ok." He admitted somewhat half truthfully as he rubbed the back of his head. "I kinda figured I'd failed to live up to expectations after last night."

"Was it that obvious?" Kim asked, her cheeks burning red with embarrassment and guilt.

"Yeah. It was pretty much my main reason for asking you out here today. I was hoping that maybe I could do some damage control." He explained.

"Erik, you're the perfect guy." Kim explained frankly. "Really. Someday, I know you're going to make some lucky girl really happy."

"I was kinda hoping that girl would be you." Erik replied honestly.

_Oh great! He just had to say that. Are we sure about this again? Should we, maybe, sleep on this?_

Kim needed only to look inside herself for a second before assuring herself. Yes, she was sure. This was the way it had to be. All the pretty words Erik might spin wouldn't change the fact that he just wasn't what she wanted. Whatever she was looking for, she was sure that she still had some looking to do.

Kim leaned forward, wrapping her arms around Erik. To her surprise, it wasn't as uncomfortable this time.

"Good bye."

"Bye."

And with that, she was gone.

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Ron paced back in forth in his room restlessly. Rufus looked on worriedly at his human as he continued his tireless march around his own room.

"'Kim, I'… no." Ron paused, before reconsidering his delivery. "'KP, I know we've been buddies for a long time but…' no, too corny. 'KP, I know that we've been friends forever, but now I think I'm feeling something totally new.' No, that's way too corny!"

This was going to be harder than he thought it was going to be. Ron plopped himself down against his bed to re-plan his method of attack.

He could always go for the dramatic, drawn out method. A romantic dinner at some expensive restaurant, a late night movie, and then a walk through the park, all climaxing with him admitting his feelings.

Then he reconsidered.

With his luck, they'd get a table next to some screaming kids, he'd spill food all over Kim, the bill would be too much for him to pay, the movie would be sold out and it would rain on them through their walk.

Ron was on the verge of another idea when his thought process was interrupted by the sound of his phone. Without another thought, he picked up the receiver, the voice on the other side of the line stopping him in his tracks.

"It's me." Kim announced. "We need to talk."

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Ron paced anxiously within his tree house. He couldn't remember if he had been this jittery back in his room. He knew that the floor boards of the tree house weren't meant to withstand such intensive pacing, so he tried to force himself to sit down on the couch inside.

It was only a matter of seconds before his anxious feet returned him to his pacing.

The sound of the wooden stairs leading up to the tree house's entrance creaking under the strain of weight caused Ron to jump slightly. He suddenly found himself trembling where he stood, and decided he needed to sit down again.

He just plopped himself onto the old cushion as a mane of bright red hair appeared, a friendly voice accompanying it.

"Hey."

"Hey."

The two tried so hard to act casually as they smiled at each other. In truth, the tension between them should have been enough to cause the tree house to burst wide open.

"We need to talk." Their twin announcements erupting at the same time took them both by surprise.

"Me first." Kim insisted. Ron wanted to argue, but the truth was, he was desperate for every second he could get to collect himself.

"Ron, I… I want to apologize for this past week. I… realize I've been leaving you behind, and that's not right."

"KP…" Ron extended his arms to take her in his embrace, but she backed away.

"Please, Ron. Just let me finish." Kim felt her cheek burn wet. It had taken her what felt like hours to prepare this, and she had to do it right. She wanted so badly to break down in his arms, but she knew if she did, she'd never be able to get another word out for the rest of the evening. The setting sun in the distance served to remind her off just how much time she had wasted working up the courage to speak to him again, she couldn't allow herself to waste another moment.

"I, I've been distracted. I let myself get caught up in someone I thought was the perfect boyfriend, and I let it distract me from my best friend in the whole world."

Kim felt herself try to catch her stuttering breathing and desperately tried to hurry this along.

"Ron… I need you. And I'm so sorry because I know I've kept you at arms length up until now for this past week and its so selfish of me to run to you like this the first minute that I have problem, but I need you, and I will do anything to make things right between us."

"Kim…" Ron extended his arms, and this time, Kim just let herself fall right into them. Sure enough, a torrent of tears poured down the side of her face as she felt herself fall in his comforting embrace. "You don't need to make things right between us. You know I'm always here for you."

"But I'm not always there for you!" Kim spit out over the bile building up in her mouth.

"Sure you are." He assured softly. "You believed me about the Diablos when nobody else would have. And god knows you've stuck by me even after all the times that I've been a royal embarrassment for you."

Kim felt she had to risk pulling away from his arms, to step down from heaven for just a moment, as she brought herself up to his eyes. "Ron, you never embarrassed me."

"Yes I did, KP." Ron answered simply. "But you always forgave me for it." Ron continued as he drew her back in close. "The least I can do is forgive you for getting a little carried away with your new BF."

"Heh. Actually, that was one of the things I wanted to talk to you about." Kim could feel the great weight being lifted off her heart as she spoke. "We broke up."

"Really?" Ron would have expected himself to leap up right off the couch with joy, startling the living daylights out of Kim in the process. Instead, he found himself overtaken by surprise. "What happened?"

"I don't know!" Kim admitted, clinging to Ron all the more tightly. "I honestly don't know! I mean, he was perfect. He was charming, he was handsome, he was a snappy dresser!"

"Sounds like a pretty picture." Ron observed, hoping to lighten the mood.

"All I could think about the whole time I was with him was how perfect he was. How much I could make Bonnie choke on her words about that stupid food chain of hers and I then Erik and I kissed and there weren't any fireworks, and this whole day just really didn't turn out to be nearly as exciting as I was hoping for, and… and I am going to die alone and miserable I just know it." Kim let out a gasp as she felt her heart seem to lighten. She had wanted, so badly, to get this all off her chest, and now that she had, she felt indescribably better, except for the thought about being alone and miserable. That thought brought her back down.

For a minute, Ron didn't say anything. He knew better than that. He just continued to hold her, trying so desperately not to have her catch him as he took in the intoxicating scent of her hair.

"KP, just because Erik didn't work out, doesn't mean you're going to die alone. Trust me; you don't want to get so distracted by death that you forget about life. There are still plenty of fish in the sea."

"You really think there is a guy out there for me?" Kim asked, hopefully.

"Out there… in here."

There was silence. Absolute silence. Even the insects outside seemed to have stopped their noises. Ron held his breath, hoping to dear god that he had not just said what he said out loud.

"What?"

Kim lifted her head up, bringing her face directly to his. Her eyes dug in deep and he felt himself held prisoner by them. For a minute, he thought he would freeze, but then he reminded himself who he was.

She was Kim Possible, and she could do anything. He may have only been Ron Stoppable, but if he could stare Death directly in the face and make her laugh, then he could certainly tell the love of his life how he felt.

Only he couldn't. Not at first. Not aloud at any rate.

Ron's face edged forward, his lips moving to meet hers. To her surprise, Kim didn't react out of fear; she didn't back away or jump back. Yet she didn't meet his either. Instead, she simply remained perfectly still, her eyes closing along with his, accepting his kiss readily.

The soft feel of her lips was everything that Ron had always imagined it to be. The kiss was short, yet it lingered on Ron's lips as he drew back.

"Ron… why… why did you do that?" Kim's face was trembling, her eyes looking at him, piercing directly into his soul, her voice a faint whisper.

"Because… because I love you." Ron returned with the same whisper. "You are smart, gorgeous, and funny; you're the most amazing person I've ever met, and I love you KP. I always have, and I know this is not really the best time for this, and I know it's selfish of me to do this to you now after what you've just been through, but I couldn't wait another second to tell you. I love you. I love you."

Kim's expression was blank and completely unreadable. It tore Ron apart as he carefully analyzed every aspect of her face for some sign of a reaction from her.

"Oh." She finally replied quietly. "Ok."

Kim practically leapt across the couch, tackling Ron down as her lips returned to his with a fierce hunger. And it happened again.

Fireworks went off. Blood rushed to Kim's face, her knees felt weak, even if she wasn't using them, as she readily took Ron, kissing him as if there were no tomorrow. Her hands bushed passionately through his blonde hair even as his hands moved directly to her exposed midriff. For reasons that she couldn't explain nor cared to, just the feel of his warm hands on her skin sent waves of pleasure reverberating across her skin, intensifying the moment all the more.

Finally, in desperate need of air, the two pulled back, their faces never separating by more than a centimeter.

"KP…" Ron gasped for breath. "What… was… that… for?"

"That was for your wonderful words." She smiled warmly as she ran her fingers through his hair.

"Oh." Ron replied between gasps. "Ok."

"And this…" Kim paused for effect as her lips moved back towards his. "This is because I love you, even if it took me longer to realize than I will ever admit."

_The End_


	2. Epilogue

Author's Note: I swear, this epilogue wasn't planned. But when an idea that you have writes itself, the least you can do is be the medium by which it is transfered into a form for the world to read.

Enjoy.

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The cracking thunder outside served to deafen the sound of the raindrops beating against the window. The storm made for an impressive spectacle to watch as the wind beat and blew against the trees, threatening to tear them out of their roots.

Ron Stoppable watched this fierce display of nature's power with a collected passiveness as he rocked back in his chair within his room in his home. _Their home._ It had been their home; he'd just been keeping it occupied this past year.

As an idle thought, Ron mused how simple his home was. Very few fancy electronic gadgets or devices, a stark contrast to the many modern homes. For someone who had spent so much of his life surrounded by some of the most impressive technological inventions of the day, Ron found he had little taste for such things. Flashy toys were for children, something he could watch his grand kids play with. He had little time for such things. He'd always been a very simple man in that regard.

His eyes wandered over to a nearby stand, and a picture of the two of them on their wedding day. God, how many ages ago had that picture been taken? They looked so young, so carefree. Of course, the passing decades had been far kinder to Kim Stoppable than to her husband since then. Ron had to smile at that. The years had never been anything but generous to her for as long as Ron had known her.

All those years ago, all those memories. Kim had been the best lover, the best friend, the best companion, the best wife that any man could have asked for. He had learned a long time ago to cherish every moment that they had had together, and he had. He truly had.

Ron's rapidly fading mental abilities were still able to recall the best moments shared between the two, as well as the worst, and he knew with all his heart he wouldn't trade the worst moments with Kim for another life time with anyone else.

Had it really only been a year?

She'd left so peacefully. He could still recall how devastated he'd been at the time. Bless the children and the grandchildren, they'd been so supportive. Always stopping in or calling up to check on him. If it hadn't been for them, and a promise he'd made so long ago to her, he probably wouldn't have gone on.

But Ron knew there was no sense in his expecting them to be there for him every second of every day, nor did he have any desire for them to be. They were still young; they had their whole lives ahead of them, while his was mostly behind him. He wasn't troubled by that. In fact, in the moment when that thought had first occurred to him, a remarkable sense of contentment had overtaken him.

He truly had no regrets. Just a casual stroll through his house littered with souvenirs and keep sakes from so many places served to remind him of a lifetime like no other. He'd been to so many places, seen so many things… of course the only reason why any of that meant anything to him was because she'd been there with him.

Ron snatched his cane up in hand, leaning on it for support as he stood, moving over to one of the shelves littered with photos of them. Pictures of him and Kim, their wedding, their children, their children's wedding, their grand children…god he was getting old.

He laughed at the thought. Now there was an understatement.

The pain hit his chest without warning. Ron tried to grasp at his own heart, as if he could somehow settle it. Stupid heart. Damn thing seemed like it was always objecting to his age. Ron felt himself leaning heavily on his cane, even as his spare hand pushed up against the wall for support. To his surprise, the attack passed rather suddenly. Had the miserable organ finally just had enough and decided to behave itself?

"Hello Ron." A familiar voice greeted warmly from off to his side. Ron turned about, smiling widely as he saw who it was.

"Didi! It's been a while." Ron paused for a moment in thought. "Wait a minute, does this mean…"

Ron turned around again for a moment, as he looked down upon his still, unmoving form lying on the ground, his hand resting over his chest.

"Oh." Ron said simply.

"Sorry Ron. Even a heart as big as yours has to give out sooner or later." She moved over to him, wrapping her right arm affectionately around his shoulders. "If it makes you feel any better, I've seen people leave worse."

"I look so… peaceful." Ron noted at the surprisingly content look on his face, at least for someone who had just died of a heart attack. "You'd almost think I was expecting it."

"We have to go you know." She explained softly.

Ron could only laugh as a though occurred to him. "You know, this is going to sound silly, but I was almost hoping we could spend another day together. I mean, I know that sounds selfish of me considering how rarely you get time off, but still."

"That's sweet. I would have liked that." She smiled at him.

Ron still couldn't contain his laughter as he went on. "I'm sorry, but the whole idea… I mean, I've been shot out by every different variation of a death ray you can think of" he paused to let out another barely suppressed chuckle before adding "and here I am, upset because I didn't live a full century till your next day off."

Ron had to burst out laughing at the thought. He couldn't contain his amusement.

"Oh goodness, a man my age laughing at death. You'd think after all my experience, I'd have more respect." Ron couldn't help but laugh again, until he noticed what he almost perceived to be a slight fluster in her face.

"Are you making fun of me?"

"No, no." Ron assured, wiping a tear of laughter from his face. "I'm sorry. I just thought this would always be a solemn, silent, regretful moment, and here I am, laughing like I just spilled my milk." Ron let out another gasp, and this time it was infectious enough to drive a smile across her face.

"Come on Ron. If we don't get going, your wife is going to be mad at me for the rest of eternity, never mind what she'll do to you."

"Kim." Just the very thought of her put a warm smile on Ron's face, one that hadn't been seen in a year's time. As it did, the years seemed to melt off of Ron Stoppable. His white hair regained its golden youth, his skin turned a more youthful peach, even his freckles seemed more pronounced. "KP…"

"Let's go." She didn't have to say it again. Ron rushed right past her, leaving 'Didi' behind him… as he ran straight into Kim's waiting arms.

_The End_


	3. Date With Desire

Author's Note: This chapter wasn't intended, but it just came to me as an idea. Obviously, it takes place between the first chapter and the epilogue. Write a review, get a response, and enjoy.

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_Welcome to the garden. This garden is very unique; there isn't one like it in the whole world. As a matter of fact, this garden cannot even be found any where in our world. It is the garden of Destiny of the Endless._

_When you first arrive in the garden, you find yourself confronted with seemingly limitless paths, the sheer number of which is overwhelming. None the less, you eventually stumble onto one path over the others. As you walk down it, you'll find that the path forks and breaks, it diverges and reconnects not once, but countless times again and again, and yet, should you ever look back, you might see only a single path behind you._

_Destiny himself walks one such path, and as he does, he reads from his book, and instantly, he is aware._

_A day that comes only once a century has come and gone. His sister has shed her mortal form and resumed her duties. So it will be from now until the time when the universe ends, and Death will close the door on reality._

_But Destiny notes something else within the pages of his book. A mortal. One that his sister met during her day as a human. This is to be a mortal of significance._

_Destiny is troubled as he reads further. The book tells him what he must do. Destiny reads and understands._

_He will meet this mortal._

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_Heaven doesn't get any better than this._ He thought surely. _And if it does, I still wouldn't go there… not without her._

Ron Stoppable's thoughts may have been bold, but he meant every word of them as he immersed his lips in those of his best friend's, Kim Possible. In all his experience with women, which truth be told, wasn't entirely as limited as he himself might profess, he had never once kissed any girl like this. This was unreal.

His every sense was electrified by her. The feel of her lips, the breathe from her nostrils over his face as she fought for more air, the way her smooth hands felt as they moved freely up and down his neck and through his hair, the way her hair brushed over his face. Every sensation seemed a hundred times more powerful, more consuming than anything that he had ever experienced.

"Have I mentioned lately that you are a ferociously good kisser?"

"You know KP, I think I might have heard you say something like that once today," she followed up on her question with another kiss. "Or twice." A proud grin and another. "Or seven times."

A fierce blush burned its way across Kim's cheeks as Ron brought his hands up to them. Kim could feel her heart skipping, blood rushing at nearly thrice its normal speed, as she savored the feel of his palms against her skin, losing herself in his eyes. For reasons she still couldn't explain, nor still cared to, she found herself simply lost in those eyes, grinning like some school girl with a mad crush, and all over her best friend. She was sure that somewhere out there was some cheap ten dollar psychology book that could explain to her, in full detail, the reason for the sudden strength of these feelings, and the truth was, she couldn't care less to read it.

"So, are we just going to stand her all day, holding each other and making out?" Ron asked, even as he moved his lips to the side of her neck.

"You say that like it's such a bad thing." Kim smiled even as she felt herself arch her neck so as to meet Ron's affections.

"No, not a bad thing." Ron confirmed between his attentions. "But I do need to get going. Got to get ready for tonight."

"Something big planned?" Kim asked with a wide grin, only to throw her eyes back in shock as Ron's lips moved up to her ear lobe, taking it and tickling it, sending a shock unlike any she had ever experienced before up her nerves. She was going to have to make sure Ron remembered that spot.

"Oh, just a simple night out on the town with my smoking hot GF." Ron whispered sensually into Kim's ear even as his hands suddenly found their way down her sides to her exposed mid drift beneath her lime green tank top. Ron had only imagined of holding that soft perfect flesh in his tender grasp up until now, but the truth was far greater than his wildest fantasy.

"L-lucky girl." Kim stuttered, her eyes closed so as to prevent herself from being distracted by any sensory input that wasn't affected by Ron's attention. Kim's extraordinary will power was swept aside like a cardboard box before a hurricane of lust as she took Ron's lips and brought them back to her own, kissing him with a passion that had made that wonderful kiss in the tree house seem like a gentle peck on the cheek.

"She deserves it." Ron gasped as he pulled back from the kiss, trying, and failing miserably, to conceal his awe. Kim couldn't help but giggle at Ron's reaction.

"Details?"

"Sorry, it's a surprise." Ron insisted as he tried to reclaim a hold over his spinning senses.

Kim pondered half a dozen different ways she could probably extract the truth from Ron. Puppy dog pout, trick it out of him, a brutal interrogation… in the end she decided that she was enjoying seeing this side of Ron, and so indulged his wishes to keep it a surprise.

"Any hints?" She decided to see what she could fish out of him.

"Just that you should dress nice." Ron tried restraining his glee at the thought of Kim wearing a sexy, frail, revealing dress for their date tonight.

"Hmm, I think I can manage that." Kim moved to rub her face against Ron's, his scent creating a whole new sensation within her. This was the first time she could ever remember that scent bringing her to such a state of arousal. It was a little overwhelming to say the least, but she found herself freely admitting she could get used to it just the same.

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It was some time later, after Kim and Ron had finally… _finally_… managed to part, that Ron was left to kick the dirt in frustration at his own words.

'Dress nice?' Yeah, that would make for a perfect dinner at Bueno Nacho, which unfortunately, was about all he could afford right now. Most of the money that Ron actually had was in a trust that his parents had set up for him for college. In terms of what he had access to, between his allowance and what limited funds he had in his savings, he had about thirty five dollars to his name.

Granted, that would still be enough for some place nicer than Bueno Nacho, but still, Kim deserved nothing but the best, and the best was definitely out of his price range at the moment.

"Ronald Stoppable."

The voice spoke with age and authority, as if it could cause mountains to bow to its presence, startling Ron as he turned around. Standing before him was a tall, elder man cloaked in a full body grey robe. Chained to his arm was some kind of thick, heavy looking book covered in dust which the man seemed to clutch protectively.

Ron had never seen this man before. He knew that. Yet somewhere within him, from only a few days ago, memories stirred within him. Images of the entire universe, all compressed into a single blinding flash show sprung up within him, depicting, among many other things, this man's face, and a name… a relationship.

"You…. You're Didi's brother." Ron stuttered as he realized that he was standing in the presence of a being as old as the universe itself.

"I am." The old man's blind eyes seemed to stare directly at Ron's direction, though they did not meet his gaze directly. Ron wondered if this 'man' could appreciate him staring at his white eyes.

"L-l-look, I didn't do anything to her." Ron insisted, backing away carefully. "W-we just spent the day together."

"I know." The figure's voice was passive the entire time. "My sister is unharmed and has since returned to her duties. I have not come to harm or threaten you."

"Oh." Ron let out an enormous sigh of relief. "S-so, why are you here?"

"Because you are once again about to become involved in the affairs of the Endless, Ron Stoppable. I am here merely because this is where I am supposed to be." Destiny answered with a detachment that did nothing to ease Ron's mind.

"I am? Well, what am I supposed to do? Can you tell me what's going to happen?" Sweat began to run down Ron Stoppable's face. In all his time battling super villains and crackpot mad scientists, he could never remember being so nervous.

"I can tell you only that this afternoon at the Middleton dog tracks, a race hound named Lucky Star will win the four o'clock race. He has never won a race before this day, and so the odds are not in his favor, and reward handsomely upon his victory. Go to the teller at station eight before the race; he will be too greedy to refuse your seemingly foolish bet, and too embarrassed to refuse paying you your winnings for fear of admitting to his boss that he accepted your bet."

"Lucky Star… dog tracks… station eight." Ron recited. "What does this have to do with… you… guys?" Ron tried to find the appropriate title for the family of beings that he was really only vaguely aware of.

"My apologies, but I have said all that I will say. Farewell."

Ron moved to stop the elder man as he simply disappeared before his very eyes into dust. Ron tried to settle his fiercely pounding heart as it threatened to shatter his rib cage within his body, even as he attempted to look around in an effort to determine if anyone else had just seen what he had seen.

As Ron settled his spinning head, the words of Destiny echoed again in his ears.

"Looks like I'm heading to the bookie!" Ron declared, even as he stopped, only to turn around in the opposite direction, rushing off in the direction of the bank. First thing first.

However, unbeknownst to Ron Stoppable, his conversation had indeed been seen.

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_The kingdom of dreaming, a very fantastic place. Places and people not found anywhere else but in dreams reside here. They come and go, flickering in and out, as the realm is in a constant state of flux. The only thing within this kingdom to remain constant is Dream's palace which is located atop a great mountain overlooking his realm._

_Today, however, it is a very dreary place. Rain pours as it has for the past three days, accompanied by fierce winds and thundering lightening. The wrath of this storm is such than any human built city would surely be rent asunder by its fury. _

_The servants of the palace of Dream know the cause of this storm. Their master has ended another affair with a mortal, and like all his other affairs, this one has not ended well. The storm's anger is merely a representation of his own anger and pain, and so long as the storm rages within him, it shall rage within his realm. _

_How long before this storm affects the dreaming of the world, the servants of Dream cannot say. Yet they know far better than to disturb their master before he is ready, and so they simply wait._

_They shall not have to wait much longer._

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Bueno Nacho has seen its share of loyal patrons, and as well as even a few distinguished ones. Assistant Manager Ned could tell of the time that then famous Andrea Lynn stopped in for a quick bite while on the road. And rumor has it that even the O Boyz themselves once stopped in to pick up some carry out.

However, today, Bueno Nacho is serving its two most distinguished guests ever.

The first lady was unattractively fat, and to whose range she passed within, she smelled almost like old leather, or rather it seemed, her shadow smelt... Her skin was clammy; her face decorated by a vacant disheartened expression and dark grey eyes, dressed (for the sake of appearances) only in a simple grey dress.

The second lady, or was it a man, walked in in a formal white suit, and as he, or was it a she, passed, he, or she, caught the eyes of all those around her, or him before sitting down in the booth with his, or her, sister.

The first lady is Despair. The other is her twin, Desire. They are of the Endless.

Desire was the first to speak.

"Sister, we have much to speak of."

Despair merely grunted, but sat forward. She was intrigued. It was unlike Desire to forgo her usual 'pleasantries'. Desire, after all, was very pleased with itself, and saw little reason not to flaunt it whenever occasion permitted.

"I need to know what you know of a mortal named Ron Stoppable."

Despair sighed heavily, leaning back in her seat as she spoke. As she did, the patrons of Bueno Nacho could swore that the temperature in the room dropped by a few degrees.

"I saw him a few days ago. I haven't seen him since. I've been busy." Despair stated simply. Despair did not talk often.

"Well I saw him in the arms of a little angel only this afternoon. A very pretty little thing, but that's not nearly as interesting as who I saw him with next."

Desire paused for effect, hoping for a sign of curiosity from his/her twin sister. After receiving only a faint shrug, Desire went on.

"Our brother, Despair. Destiny. He was talking with this little mortal, and do you know what else. He read to him." The affect was exactly as Desire was hoping for as Despair sat forward.

"Read to him?"

"From the book." Desire answered in a hushed whisper, raising her eyebrow for affect.

"Impossible." Despair's voice never rose. "Destiny does not read from the book to others. He keeps his secrets, you know that. Gods have offered their greatest treasures and threatened their harshest curses for just a glimmer of its knowledge. Destiny has refused them all."

"None the less, it is true. And that is not all. I was with a young boy named Eric a few days ago when he caught up with our dear friend Ron with another of our siblings."

Despair said nothing, but continued to look intently at her twin.

"Death." Desire announced with satisfaction.

"You said you saw this mortal alive." Despair replied. She was getting most impatient with her sibling's games.

"I did, and he was. Yet as surely as we sit here, I saw this mortal with our beloved sister only days ago. First Death, and yet he lives. And now Destiny confides with this Ron, with whom our brother discloses the secrets of his book. There is something about this mortal, something very special, and I would like to know what that is."

Despair merely sighed. She didn't know why she was surprised. After all, it was in the nature of Desire to long for that which it couldn't have.

"Uhh, excuse me." A voice interrupted nervously. "Welcome to Bueno Nacho, my name is Ned. Can I get you two anything?"

Desire, obviously annoyed at having been interrupted, turning to the meek little man before it.

"No but over in the corner is a nice pretty little lady who just got stood up by her boyfriend. Why don't you go over there and ask her out like you've been wanting to. Then, when she turns you down and you go home from your shift in ten minutes, spend the rest of the week thinking abut how you will never ever earn the affections of a girl as pretty as her for as long as you live before coming back to work, never to think about it again."

Ned's face was blank at first as he seemed to hear Desire's words without actually listening to them. Then, as if he had never even laid eyes upon those within the booth, he walked away over to another table off in the corner.

"Was that necessary?" Despair grunted, realizing she would undoubtedly be seeing that young man soon.

"No." Desire answered simply.

"Get away from me you freak." Bonnie Rockwaller could be heard crying off in the distance. "I wouldn't touch you if you were the last man on Earth."

The pair was unfazed by this incident as they continued to talk.

"As I was saying, I think there is something very interesting about this Ron Stoppable, and I want to know what it is."

"How?"

"By asking him myself."

"When?"

"Tonight."

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James Possible tried not listen in from all the way downstairs in the comfort of his own living room while upstairs, the sound of his daughter frantically tearing back and forth across her rooms continued to echo throughout the entire room. Her constant cries of frustration had finally forced Mrs. Possible up stairs to see if she could help their daughter in selecting an appropriate outfit for the occasion.

Mr. Dr. Possible shifted uncomfortably, trying to restrain his own anxiousness at the thought of this evening. His little Kimmie-cub… and Ronald… together… on a date! He'd had to have the idea repeated to him at least twice before his mind finally accepted that this was actually happening. If only his wife hadn't already forbidden him from mentioning anything about space probes or black holes this evening, he could put a stop to this before the evening began.

The doorbell brought an abrupt end to James Possible's scheming as he moved to answer the front door. Standing on the other side, smiling just a little too happily for the rocket scientist's satisfaction was a familiar blonde haired young man dressed very handsomely in a smart black suit, his hands politely behind his back. Even James Possible had to admit his satisfaction that the young man had at least decided to dress properly for the occasion.

"Greetings and salutations Mr. Dr. Possible. Is Kim ready?" Ron wasted only as much time as necessary on pleasantries.

"Ronald, come in." Dr. James Possible adopted his most formal posture as he issued the young man inside. "You're looking very nice tonight."

"Yeah, there never was a tux the Ron-man couldn't make look good." Ron smiled as he eyed himself. "Still, not too shabby if I do say so myself."

"I'll say." Mrs. Dr. Possible couldn't restrain her own impression as she stood from atop the stairs.

"Evening Mrs. Dr. P. Everything ok?" Ron inquired, wondering whether or not he was deliberately being kept waiting or not.

"Why don't you decide for yourself?" Mrs. Possible couldn't restrain her glee as she stepped off to the side, allowing a pair of legs to reveal themselves from around the corner, followed by a body that Ron thought he would die for right there on the spot.

Kim appeared, wearing a form revealing short black dress that clung to her curves in all the right ways, her legs dressed in black stockings. Her eyes lashes perfectly drew attention to her green pupils even as her hair flowed freely.

Ron resisted the urge to pass out right on the spot, drinking in the sight of her as she made her way down the stairs towards him. He couldn't help the swelling pride within him as he realized that only a few days ago, this would have been nothing more than his fondest dream.

Ron had rehearsed a thousand different opening lines, some slicker than others. In the end, all he could get out was a simple "Hey."

"Hey."

"For you." Ron produced from behind his back, a bouquet of roses in hand as he offered them to her. Kim couldn't restrain her surprise as she took them, inhaling their delicate fragrance.

"Ron, these are beautiful."

"Wrong. Those are flowers. You're beautiful." Ron extended his hand, taking Kim's as she blushed, her cheeks, hair and flowers all the exact same color.

Kim was so busy taking in the sight of Ron in his new suit (that had to be new, there was just no way he could have owned that and she had never seen him in it before. He looked way too good for her to have possibly forgotten something like that!) that she was completely caught off guard by Ron's next surprise.

Kim had expected to see Ron's scooter waiting for them down the drive way, so one can only imagine her surprise when she saw a proper limo waiting outside, the driver already holding the door open for them.

"Mr. Stoppable… Ms. Possible…" The driver acknowledge politely as Kim, her mouth still wide open with shock, entered the car.

"Ron… how… how did you… how can you afford this?" She was finally able to voice her curiosity.

"Just lucky I guess." Ron smiled.

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If Kim was surprised at Ron's choice of transportation, then 'shocked' would hardly do justice to her reaction at their destination. 'Francoise's' was absolutely notorious for its exquisite cuisine, and even more notorious for its prices. As she stepped out, Kim felt absolutely ashamed for suspecting that Ron would just take her to Bueno Nacho and a movie tonight.

"Ok Ron, spill." She finally had to say to him.

"Spill what" Ron thanked the limo driver as he drove off before turning to Kim.

"Come on. Flowers, a limo, dinner at a fancy restaurant. Did you win the lottery and forget to tell me?" Kim eyed him suspiciously.

"Almost." Ron smiled proudly as he took Kim's arm wrapped around his own. "What can I say; a perfect girl deserves a perfect date. My dad taught me that one."

Kim just smiled at him. "If you think you can escape my question by sweet talking your way through the entire evening…"

"… I'm absolutely right?" Ron finished for her.

"Depends on how good of a sweet talker you are." Kim bit back, moderately annoyed but mostly overjoyed beyond belief.

It was only a few seconds before Kim and Ron were seated. A nice private booth off in the corner, the entire room dimly lit by ceiling lamps and candles at each table. Soft music played throughout the area, a fireplace in the center of the room completed the ambience.

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From off in the corner, Desire watched with deeply vested interest. It's piercing yellow eyes stared at Ron intently, scrutinizing, analyzing, dissecting. What was it about this mortal? Why he should be of such interest to Desire's brother and sister. He certainly seemed normal enough. Perhaps there had been some mistake.

No. Desire burned with determination. There was no mistake. Ron Stoppable had cavorted with Death, been shared the secrets of Destiny, and before this night was done, Desire would know why this was.

It would be easy. Once his date excused herself for whatever reason, Desire would only have to ask. One gaze into the eyes of Desire, and Ron Stoppable would effectively have no will of his own. He would do anything for Desire. Anything.

Desire's golden eyes widened with anticipation as it watched Kim Possible excuse herself from the table, presumably moving off to the restroom. A sinister grin spread across Desire's varying features as it readied to move.

"Don't do it, Desire. Don't you dare."

The voice stopping it was cold and angry, and it stopped Desire in its tracks for a moment as it turned to see the burning gaze of its sibling.

"Why, what a surprise to see you here, dear sister."

"Stay away from him." Death burned with righteous anger as she stared down her younger sibling. "If you value your current incarnation, stay away from him."

"Why, what a strange threat. Especially since all I want to do is talk to the young man. Surely, there can be no harm in that. And if, just by looking at me, he should become so overwhelmed that he would offer to tear out his own heart just to present it to me as a gift, well that's hardly any fault of mine. I am what I am after all." Desire almost purred as it eyed the oldest sister of the Endless. "And why pray tell should this one little human mean so much to you?"

"I won't tell you again." Death's voice would have frozen stars. "Stay away from him, or I will…"

"You must do nothing, sister." A cloud of dust appeared between the squabbling siblings, as a man in grey robes appeared between the two, holding Death back.

"So, first my sister Death and now Destiny too watches over this mortal. I knew there was something about him, and this just confirms it." Desire shot, all the more excited by the arrival of her brother.

"Bro, get out of my way." Death warned.

"I cannot. Desire must not be impeded this night." Destiny explained plainly but firmly, his resolve never once fading, even in the face of Death's ire.

"So, what now sister?" Desire smiled as she eyed Death. "Will you strike down two of your own family for this mortal?"

Death bit her lip in frustration even as she backed down in face of her brother. As she did, Desire sauntered over to Ron's table where he still waited patiently.

"Destiny, I swear…" Death never once looked away from Desire.

"This must happen, sister. Once it has, I will be gone. Do with Desire then what you will." Destiny looked off in the direction of Ron's table. The two Endless listened with ears not human as Ron Stoppable, completely unaware of his situation, looked up into the face of Desire.

"Hey KP, that didn't take so long… KP, what happened to your eyes? Are you wearing contacts?"

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Bonnie Rockwaller stormed off, away from her table. Stupid, no good captain of the soccer team, 'forgetting' his wallet, leaving her to pay for dinner with her own money. This was simply the worst night of her life. So much so that she failed to notice the storming figure rant to herself angrily as she bumped into it.

"Hey, watch where you're going." Bonnie shouted angrily.

"Oh, go home and weep over that loser who hit on you today in the restaurant." Desire bit back in a torrent of rage as she stormed out through the front door, leaving Bonnie to pause for a moment mindlessly, before suddenly finding herself wishing to hear Ned's high pitched voice.

Desire stormed outside, burning with rage and embarrassment.

"Had your fun?" Desire spun around to see Death leaning back against the outside of the building, her arms crossed with a satisfied grin on her face.

Desire said nothing as she faded away in a whiff of summer peaches, leaving Death to chuckle to herself.

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_Within the realm of Dream, there is a servant, a raven named Mathew. He has been in the service of Dream of the Endless for some time now. As with all the wiser of Dream's servants, he is especially mindful about disturbing his master during one of his foul moods._

_Mathew flies into the throne room where Dream sits, covered in a deep blue robe, still sulking._

"_B-boss?" Mathew asks uneasily._

_Dream merely sighs, never once turning to acknowledge his raven. "Yes? What is it?"_

"_Uh, your sister was here." He explains uneasily. "You know, your oldest."_

"_Death was here." For a moment, Dream's mood rises, only to sharpen as he turns to Mathew. "Why did you not show her in?"_

"_She said she couldn't stay." He explains hurriedly. "She wanted me to give you a message."_

_And so, without delay, Mathew quickly recounts the message of his master's sister. And as he does, he sees something that defies belief. _

_A smile quickly appears across Dream's face. A smile which turns into gentle laughter, which grows louder and more forceful, until finally becoming a thunderous outburst that echoes unparalleled amusement and delight throughout the enormous halls._

_Outside the castle, the storm has cleared._

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The limo had circled around Kim's block about seven times now. The driver was used to this sort of request from his younger clients, and so had absolutely no trouble familiarizing himself with the neighborhood.

In the back, Kim and Ron's lips hadn't separated an inch since the drive back home. Apart from some awkwierd moment where Ron had insisted that Kim had come back to the table with yellow contacts in her eyes, only to get up and storm back off, which Kim obviously had no memory of, the night couldn't have gone better. The momentary hesitation where the couple had feared that the new nature of their relationship might change the way they talked and laughed had quickly passed, leaving them to pass the night away in each other's company, their hearts pounding the entire time.

Kim couldn't remember the last time she had had such an amazing time with Ron, or for that matter, with anyone. Her heart had fluttered the entire time as he entertained her. She had never seen this side of him before, never seen him be so charming. It was quite a shock to her to see someone she knew already so well in such a new light, and she wasn't the least it ashamed to admit she liked it… a lot.

Now, on the trip back, Kim could still taste the fettuccini Ron had had for dinner off his lips as his hands roamed up and down her hips. Kim became of the thin layer of cloth separating her bare skin from his and it burned her blood all the more. Of course, Ron was a perfect gentleman, his hands never roaming too far.

She savored every instant his lips were to hers, even as she felt the car come to a stop, pulling up in front of her house. Even then, she wouldn't stop her attentions until the limo driver finally cleared his throat, revealing that he had opened the door, and that it was time for the night to end.

Ron wrapped Kim in his jacket as he walked her to the front door, his arm wrapped around her waist, her arm around his shoulder.

"Ron… this was absolutely amazing." Kim's voice was so soft as she found herself locked in his eyes.

"You deserve it KP." Ron's other arm moved around her waist as she brought her spare arm to the other side of his shoulder. "Although, on behalf of my wallet, I was hoping, maybe for our next date, you'd settle for Bueno Nacho and a movie."

"Bueno Nacho and a movie sounds perfect." Kim leaned her face forward, rubbing it against his own. As he did, Ron found himself carried away by the scent of her perfume as his hands unconsciously pulled her by the waist closer towards him.

Ron wanted to say something to fill in the silence, not because it was uncomfortable, but just because it seemed to him like he should. In the end, only one thing could be said.

"I love you KP."

"I love you Ron." Kim brought her lips to his again, savoring a good night kiss that would have likely lasted for the rest of the evening, had Mr. and Mrs. Possible not chosen that moment to open the door on the couple. Still, the kiss lasted a few seconds longer, the two savoring each other's presence before finally parting.

"Night."

"Good night."

Kim smiled as she handed Ron's jacket back to him. As she did, Ron took her hand and kissed it gently, before tossing his jacket over his shoulder. "Sweet dreams."

Ron would never know the prophetic nature his words would hold as they both went to sleep, dreaming a wonderful dream that decorated their faces with smiles the whole night, such as it was with everyone, every where, across the planet.


	4. A Call For Aide

Author's Note: Surprise! Chapter four of Endless Wisdom. This is for those who wrote in, encouraging me on for one more chapter. You know who you are.

Warning: This chapter is not quite as fluffy as my others. You've been warned.

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The machete mercilessly cut away at the jungle brush in its path, the woman in the lead wielding it with quite frightening precision and skill. The two men following her both silently agreed that it would be best to not give her opportunity to test her prowess with it on them.

"How much further?" She shot back, wiping the sweat off her forehead.

"Well, if this simpleton's map is to be trusted," the second man shot a distrusting glance back at the third "it should be no more than a hundred yards or so ahead."

"Hey!" The third shot back. "I went to the ends of the earth and paid good money for that I'll have you know."

"You got it off of eBid from some punk kid." The woman reminded snidely. "And he ripped you off."

"So his price was a little high." The third admitted defensively. "Our resident expert here has already confirmed it's genuine."

"Just because I've confirmed its authenticity doesn't mean I believe that you're actually going to find a weapon of massive destructive power hidden among the ruins your little map leads to." The second reminded.

"Oh yeah." The woman began. "You'll track down the first stone scratches that you think has anything to do with mystic monkey power" the woman had to force the words out of her mouth "but it's waaay too much of a stretch to believe in a mystical super weapon."

"Frankly Shego, I find it hard to believe that you accept this weapon's existence." Monkey Fist pointed back to Drakken's panting, gasping, sweating figure. "Him, I can accept. But you, surely…"

"Dr. D's check cleared. That's all I care about." Shego replied simply.

"Glad to hear it Shego, because between your pay check and that map, the evil lair might have to cut back on its heating bill for the next month." Drakken wiped the sweat from his neck as he sat down on a nearby tree stump. "Ok, I need to rest."

"Again?"

"This inane campaign was your idea and of all of us, the one who has hampered its progression most with their constant demands for rest is you!" Monkey Fist reminded in a heated temper, pun definitely intended. The climate of the rainforest was enough, even for him, but having to work with such… amateurs… it was almost enough to drive the noble lord mad all over again.

"Look, I don't do field work." Drakken protested.

"Yeah, I'll vouch for that." Shego interjected.

"I'm a mad scientist. I do brilliant lab work."

"Hmm, can't vouch for that."

"If you don't get moving this instant," Monkey Fist hissed through his lips and gritted teeth "I will personally carry you… by your hair, through the tree line!"

Drakken let out a pitiful gulp as he hurriedly stood up. "So, a hundred yards in that direction right? Let's go, what are we standing around for?" He asked anxiously.

It was sometime later as the trio continued to cut a swath through the jungle cover that they finally reached their destination.

"The city of Simril!" Monkey Fist stated in awe. As a former noted archeologist and historian, the accomplishment of finding the city of a lost civilization was not entirely lost upon him as he admitted in a soft voice "I must confess, I never thought I'd see it with my own eyes."

"Ok. Whoopee." Shego found herself easily containing her enthusiasm. "Why do we care about this again?"

"The Simrilian culture was among the first to use clay and stone in their buildings and architecture." Monkey Fist began even as he led the trio towards the ruins. The city itself seemed centered around a massive stone temple with various marking and decorations around it. The temple itself looked as if it had been hit by a bomb. What appeared to have once been several large stone statues standing around the temple each appeared to have been reduced to spare rubble. In fact, to even look at the temple, one would expect the structure to be mere seconds from collapsing upon itself. "In fact, at their peak, their civilization may have well stretched across half the rain forest."

"More importantly," Drakken interrupted with anticipation "according to legend, when the Simrilians had finished conquering their enemies after a series of long, bloody wars, their god of destruction and devastation sent to them, as a blessing for their victory, a mystical weapon. A war hammer capable of devastating anything within its path. Supposedly, one strike from this hammer could crack continents and reduce mountain ranges to mere rubble."

"So, why do you care?" Shego asked even as she disgustedly swatted a hideous insect from her shoulder. It was official; this was the last time she did jungle work.

"Isn't it obvious?" Drakken shouted incredulously. "No one knows what happened to the Simrilian people. They appear to have been wiped out. One year, they're on top of the world, and the next day… poof!" Drakken motioned with his hands. "Gone, without a trace! Don't you see? They were annihilated by their own weapon!"

"Or a natural catastrophe" Monkey Fist speculated.

"Or maybe they just left." Shego prompted sarcastically.

"Or perhaps there god killed them." Monkey Fist observed with the same tone as Shego.

"ENOUGH!" Drakken was getting tired of being ridiculed. Not that he wasn't used to it, but the heat and humidity just wasn't helping his mood. "They were wiped out by the hammer, and it's here. I know it is. And once it's mine, the world will bow to me. Dr. Drakken!"

"And me." Monkey Fist reminded.

"What are you talking about?" Drakken shot back, slightly upset at having been interrupted at the climax of his triumphant monologue.

"We are equal partners in this after all." Monkey Fist reminded with very clear undertones.

"Oh please. You're just the guide." Drakken dismissed.

"Lord Montgomery Fiske is no one's guide." Monkey Fist eyed the blue skinned scientists squarely, his voice a razor's edge. "And were it not for me, you two would be back stroking down the Amazon River at this very moment."

"Oh please. If it weren't for my map, we wouldn't have found this place and you'd still be sitting in your little dust ridden castle obsessing over a bunch of monkey heads!"

Shego merely thrust her machete into the dirt, dropping her pack to the ground as she sat down on a nearby log, all the while the shouting continued. She had decided it was best to let the two of them kill each other while she reapplied her bug spray.

As she did, she was unaware that her party was being watched by a pair of very ancient eyes.

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On an island within a chain of islands off the coast of Greece, on the top of a cliff overlooking the whole of the island there is a temple. Unlike the other temples among the islands, built in monument to gods long dead or mostly abandoned by the modern world, no one is quite sure which one this temple is built to. Many of the tours that pass through and by the island usually pretend to overlook the temple. A few will admit the temple's simple, lost mystery and the rest concoct some half baked story to satisfy the tourists.

The temple in question is a very simple structure. A large building with no rooms, just the main central chamber. The chamber is empty, decorated only with six portraits, three on the opposite walls to the sides of the entrance. The portraits are of family members. Besides each one is a symbol, a sigil for each of the family.

The rusty doors to the temple swung open, admitting a large, red haired man in a plain green shirt and blue pants. A great anxiousness filled him as he looked around. It had literally been ages since he had been here. He had closed down his realm over three thousand years ago, yet he felt it appropriate to leave this shrine here undisturbed.

The man felt a twinge of hesitation as he reached for the ankh beside the second portrait of a lady elegantly dressed in black. After all this time, after all those years when he had asked his family not to seek him out, he was now about to turn to them.

It was a difficult choice to make, but he saw no other alternative as he held the ankh out before the picture.

"Sister, I stand in my gallery and hold your sigil in hand. It is I, Destruction, who calls upon you. Please come to me." He announced in an authoritative tone.

"Well, well. Will wonders never cease?" The portrait spoke back, even as the young woman with the ankh around her neck stepped out of the canvas to stand before him. "You go for thousands of years and then all of the sudden, from out of the blue, who decides to pick up and give you a call?" She asked with a faint smile.

"My apologies sister." Destruction paused for a moment before amending, remembering precisely to whom he was speaking. "Uhh… I mean sorry sis. It's been a while and… well. I didn't know how else to ask."

"Yes, yes it has." Death answered in a soft reserved tone. "So, what's up?"

Destruction expertly masked a disheartenment that threatened to decorate his face at his sister's tone of voice as he explained his delicate situation. Death listened patiently the entire time with an expression that would have absolutely killed in Vegas, pun not intended.

"I see." Death replied simply, her voice and expressions painfully neutral as she listened to Destruction finish with his story. "So what do you expect me to do about it?"

"Sis, please don't be like that." Destruction softened, pleading with her for some sign of sympathy. "You and I have stood together a billion, billion times and more. On the grounds of sieges, in the wakes of catastrophes both artificial and natural, at least from the mortal's perspective. We have shared horrors that many mortals would be happier imagining never occur. You know what's at stake here."

"Emphasize the past tense, brother." Death's words caused Destruction to stiffen as she spoke. He could not remember the last time she had spoken like this to him. "You left remember?"

There was a soft pause as Destruction's mind drifted back to the family meeting. The last time all seven of the Endless were gathered together in the same place at the same moment. The banquet hall of Destiny. The six gathered in anticipation as Destruction plainly and calmly announced his intentions to leave. To abandon his realm and his duties and to request that none of his family ever seek him out. Death had been very silent the whole time.

"You never protested." He replied carefully.

"If I'd thought it would have done any good, I would have. Unfortunately, you're every bit as pig headed and stubborn as Dream." Death crossed her arms at this.

"Then I'd say I'm in fine company." Destruction offered in an attempt to elevate the mood. Death's expression never once cracked.

"It was just so easy for you too, wasn't it?" Death continued, her voice rising in volume as she spoke. "One day you decide you don't want to be responsible for the destruction any more so you just… up and leave. Poof. Just like that. You put yourself on the cosmic 'Do Not Call' list and then leave. Just disappear from the rest of us."

"You could do the same." Destruction offered, still very mindful of his tone of voice. "The worlds do not exist because of the Endless, we exist because of them. We're ideas, concepts, patterns in reality. If we die, another assumes our position. So I took my sigil with me, and I left the destruction of the world to itself. Nothing's stopping you from doing it yourself if you want."

"Maybe I don't want to." Death snapped back. "Maybe I happen to think that my job needs to be done."

"Please sis." Destruction took a tentative step forwards. "I know it's hard for you from time to time. To be at the beckon call of every murderer and killer, of every disease and disaster. You care about them sis. You care, and that's what makes it so hard to take them from their loved ones, from their dreams and hopes."

"Maybe that's why I do it!" Death snapped back. "Maybe I want to be there. Maybe I want someone to be there with them."

"And is that how you feel about me? That I should be there? That it really makes a difference if it becomes my responsibility instead of theirs?" Destruction's voice never rose once. There was no need for it to do so. This discussion would quickly reach its inevitable conclusion.

"Maybe it does." She then added in an almost inaudible whisper, her eyes turning away from him. "Maybe it makes a difference to us."

Destruction relented as he approached his sister, his arms settling on her shoulders. "I do still miss you. All of you."

Death chuckled as she looked back up into the face of her brother. "I suppose next you're going to tell me I still look pretty."

"Would it help?" Destruction asked hopefully.

Death merely giggled, finally giving in as threw her arms around her brother's shoulder, the two family embracing one another tightly. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." Destruction assured softly. "I know you still care about them. I know you're not going to just let my mistake come back to haunt them again."

Death's eyes narrowed on her brother with sharp scrutiny. "If you're even thinking of asking what I think your thinking of asking I will give you a big hug, say 'thanks for calling' and never speak to you again."

"Sis, that hammer is my responsibility. The last time it was used, it wiped out an entire people. I wiped out an entire people, and for trying to help them. That can't happen again."

"Well I'm not doing anything about it and neither are you. You know it's bad news for us to get directly involved with them. If we start interfering, then there goes the universe."

"You almost sound like our brother." Destruction quipped with an amused look on his face.

"I'm being serious." Death leveled her eyes at him.

"Like you've never broken your own rules before?" Destruction cast a probative glance at his oldest sister. As he did, a slight, almost imperceptible smirk may have cracked her hardened features.

"Maybe." She replied softly.

"Then help me." Death had never seen such sincere desperation on his face before. Yet she knew she had to remain firm.

"Not that way."

"Then another way." He offered.

For a moment, Death was silenced as she gave the matter some thought. "Well, I might know of one other way. Someone I know you could call for help…"

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"… and therefore, because of his compassion, courage, and tolerance and respect for all races and genders, the Fearless Ferret was perhaps the unsurpassable hero of his era. Thank you."

A tiny set of pink paws clapped and cheered from his desk, giving a standing ovation as Ron Stoppable finished presenting his report for the class. Most of the class had lost interest, occasionally shooting glances of disbelief and incredulousness back and forth, divided between Ron Stoppable and his girlfriend Kim Possible.

Kim didn't pay them one bit of mind. She had no reason to. Ron had done his assignment, and what was more, he had actually done it rather well. His choice of topic may have been a little unorthodox, but using the Fearless Ferret as a means of commenting on pop culture in recent American history did fall under Barkin's requirements of an oral presentation. The fact was that once Kim had helped Ron find a topic he could appreciate, his enthusiasm for the assignment had skyrocketed, along with the quality of the work.

Frankly, Kim Possible had never been more proud of Ron for as long as she could remember, and that was saying quite a lot.

"Thank you Stoppable for that admittedly thorough presentation." Ron couldn't resist sharing a surprised glance with Kim. That was the closest Steve Barkin had ever come to actually paying Ron a compliment in front of the entire class.

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Monique cast a disinterested glance between the platter before her and the pair across from her. She had been hoping to catch up with her friends, maybe talk to them and find out first hand how they'd been. So far, she wasn't having much luck getting a word in. Finally out of sheer boredom, she looked at the assortion of Mexican delicacies being hastily devoured before her.

"So Rufus, anything new with you?"

The tine pink figure never bothered to look up from its ravagings as it continued to gorge itself on the Bueno Nacho menu arrayed before it, leaving Monique still with no one to talk to as she looked up across the booth at her best friends.

Monique still couldn't help but smile at the sight of her two friends as they remained lip locked, oblivious to all else around them. She was still trying to figure out how they were getting oxygen to keep from passing out.

"So, Kim, Ron, everything going ok?"

No response from the two.

"So anyway, I was wondering if you two knew how much do death rays go for these days?"

The sound of lips smacking was the only thing heard from the other side of the booth.

"I've been thinking a lot about my college placement tests and have decided 'to heck with the whole thing.' So I'm going to be a super villain."

Still no response.

"Yeah, I'm planning to conquer Middleton tomorrow. Then Paris. Gotta look fashionable if I'm going to be ruling the world after all."

"Hmm… forget Paris." Ron replied dreamily as he parted from Kim by precious inches, his eyes half open as he continued to stare at her.

"All the best fashions are in Milan." Kim whispered in the same star struck tone as she maintained her hold on her boyfriend.

Monique couldn't help but to burst out giggling at the sight. "So I take it all is well up there in cloud nine?"

"Oh yeah." Ron answered in the same heaven induced tone.

"Couldn't be better." Kim agreed.

The chime of the Kimmunicator went unheeded as Kim and Ron returned their attentions to one another.

"Uh guys." Monique once again tried to gather their attention, but was once again ignored. When the Kimmunicator finally chimed for the third time, Monique signaled to Rufus to go fetch. The naco filled rodent quickly retrieved the small device from Kim's pocket and brought it to Monique's grasp.

"Guys I… oh, hey Monique." Wade Load's image came through over the screen of the Kimmunicator, a little startled by the unexpected face. "Can I speak to Kim?"

"You're welcome to try." Monique held out the Kimmunicator screen to give Wade a better view of the lip locked couple.

"Oooh man!" Wade recoiled at the sight as Monique brought the Kimmunicator back to her face. "I know there's no such thing as cooties but really. Seriously, how do you guys stand that stuff?"

"Give it a try some time cutie. You might just learn to like it." Monique jested suggestively.

"I'll… keep that in mind." Wade hurried. "Listen, I hate to interrupt them but I just got a hit on the site. I need to talk to Kim. Any chance you happen to have a crow bar on you?"

"Sorry, I left mine at home."

At this, Kim took the small blue device from Monique's grasp, practically glowing as she asked "What's the sitch Wade?"

"Got a hit on the site, this one from South America and… and… could you tell Ron to stop that please?"

What Wade was referring to was Ron's lips dancing up and down the side of Kim's neck as she spoke on the Kimmunicator. "Ron's fine Wade. You mentioned something about South America?"

"Uhh… yeah." Wade tried and failed horribly to restrain his awkwardness. "It looks like Drakken has struck. And he picked up a partner this time. Monkey Fist."

"Monkeys!" Ron's attention immediately turned from Kim's perfect neck to the Kimmunicator. "Why is it always monkeys? Seriously. I mean, of all the things, why monkeys? I never figured that out."

"Our ride?" Kim let out a sigh. It seemed that making out was going to have to wait for later.

"All set. One hypersonic jet on its way, courtesy of some private donator. Apparently he's the one who called it in."

"He? He who?" Ron interjected.

"He goes by the name of Derek Katastrofi."

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"So, where are we meeting this guy again?" Ron asked from within the cabin of the jet.

"Apparently, he's meeting us in the rainforest at the drop point. He was the one who saw Drakken and Monkey Fist and decided to meet us in the forest." Kim readied her chute pack.

"And, when he saw two super villains rummaging through the forest, he decided to stick around because…?"

"He thinks that they are after something really serious."

As Ron processed Kim's explanation, he looked over the jungle canopy. At Kim's signal, the pair jumped, free falling through the air before finally pulling, their chutes opening perfectly as they made their way through the canopy.

Kim landed flawlessly on the ground, discarding her pack and removing her helmet.

Ron on the other hand, true to form, caught his chute within the branches of the jungle and was stuck dangling three feet from the ground.

"Aww man. This tanks." Ron's struggles to free himself only seemed to make the matter worse, further entangling his limbs, leaving him to hang helplessly.

"How do you always have problems with that?" Kim asked amused. Not that she relished in the suffering of her poor BF, but there was just something so cute about him in this condition.

"How do you never have problems with that?" Ron indicated to the thick canopy. "And can you help me down please?"

"Ron, if I helped you, then I couldn't get to do this." Kim took Ron by the shirt, pulling his face directly to hers. It was official. Ron was going to have to find a way to get tangled in his chute on every mission from now on.

"Uhh… excuse me."

The voice from the side caught both Kim and Ron off guard. For some reason, the instant Kim turned to see who had spoken was the exact moment that Ron's chute seemed to work itself from the tree branches it had caught on, dropping Ron with a surprised yelp to the hard ground.

"I'm sorry lass. Please forgive me. You must be Kim Possible." The tall, older man in a plain shirt and pants with burning red hair on his head and chin walked over, introducing himself, extending his hand. Off to his side was a small young girl wearing torn gothic clothing, her hair shaved very shortly.

"Hi, and you're Mr. Katastrofi?"

The older man smiled politely. "Please, just call me Derek. And this is my sister, Sarah."

"hI. He, hE SaYS MY nAMe is SaRAh, but it's nOT. I'd TeLL yoU WhaT My name iS, buT it'S A sEcReT." The young girl replied in a distracted tone of voice. As she spoke, she seemed to try to catch at insects that weren't actually there.

Kim looked up at Derek who smiled apologetically. "I'm afraid she's not well. I try to look after her."

"You know, it might be safer then if she waits for us." Kim offered, even as Ron slowly stood back up, finally freeing himself from the last entangled knot of his chute.

"Man, it takes weeks of Bueno Nacho to get the taste of rainforest out of your mouth." Ron spit a small bit of dirt from his lips even as he pulled a grain of grass from between his teeth.

"Oh, Derek, I'd like you to meet my partner, Ron Stoppable." Kim formally introduced.

"Yes, I noticed." Derek replied with a knowing grin. "Hello there young man."

Ron looked up at the older man as he smiled and shook his hand firmly. As he did, Ron was once again disturbed by a sensation of familiarity coming from this complete stranger.

"Uh, hello. How's it going?" Ron tried to conceal his unease behind his usual carefree smile. It wasn't quite the most convincing performance of his life.

"Listen Mr… Derek," Kim amended "I really think your sister would be better waiting for us here."

"I dON't like to WaIT. IT's too bOring. i can hEar mySELF think when I wait. it'S too loud." The soft young girl seemed to look at something that wasn't there as she spoke, prompting spooked looks of concern between Kim and Ron.

"I'll make sure she's ok, I promise." Derek insisted. "We'll stay in the back and let you do your job, but I really should look after her."

Kim just shrugged acceptingly. "Well, lead the way."

Derek motioned a path that lay before them through the jungle, taking the lead as Kim followed after him. As she did, Ron quickly took up the rear, leaving him to struggle with something within his mind. There was something about this… Derek that felt different. For reasons he couldn't explain, whenever Ron looked up at his backside, flashes appeared before his mind's eye. In an instant he saw a great hall, and at the entrance to this hall were seven golden statues looking out over a garden that stretched on for eternity. Of these statues, six faced forward, over looking the garden and one… one had its back turned away with a knapsack over its shoulder.

"I really must thank you for coming so quickly Ms. Possible." Derek insisted. "The fate of the world is at stake."

"No big." Kim assured. "I know these guys, and while they are dangerous, I don't think they'll be able to do much damage to the world from the middle of the rain forest."

"They will if they find the Hammer of Simril." Derek stated surely. Kim had to check twice as they walked, but she seemed positive that he wasn't even sweating in spite of the overwhelming humidity.

"And what, if I already didn't want to know, is the Hammer of Simril?" Ron called up from the rear. Even as he did, he blinked twice, and for a split second, swore that he noticed Sarah's hair nearly triple in length to a full lush head of hair before receding to its short, brief length.

"Long ago, the Simrilian people expanded nearly across the entire rainforest." Derek explained. "But they had many enemies and in conquering those enemies, their society was left devastated. Simrilian myth describes that a great god took pity on them and gave them the hammer to help them rebuild their civilization. Unfortunately, the hammer was… flawed."

"What kind of god builds a messed up hammer?" Ron asked.

"I bUilT a MeSSed UP NaIL once. IT wouldn't Go in aLL tHe way. I had to YeLL really lOUd." Sarah interjected.

There was an awkward silence that didn't seem to affect Derek in the least as he continued to lead on. Kim skipped ahead a few paces to whisper to him. "I don't mean to be rude, but are you sure you're sister is ok?"

"She's… ok." Derek seemed to accept his sister's condition as an unavoidable truth of the world. "We're all hoping she'll get better someday, but until then, I try to look out for her."

"Can I ask what happened to her?" Kim felt uneasy at the question, but curiosity overtook good manners.

"It's a very long story lass. The short version is that the world just up and changed on her."

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"So, we're agreed." Drakken announced finally. "I get North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and you get South America and Australia… on alternate Sundays." Drakken added, hoping that Monkey Fist wouldn't notice.

He noticed.

"We agreed to no such conditions!" The ninja master shouted, getting madder by the second. "And I retain control of Asia as well as Africa, in addition to…"

Monkey Fist was interrupted by a green bolt of plasma as it scorched the ground not three inches to the side of the bickering pair.

"You two haven't even found this hammer thingy nor do you know if it even exists and you're already arguing about how you're going to split the world!" The heat combined with the two shouting non stop had finally pushed Shego well past her limit.

The two stood in uncomfortable silence, silence filled in only with the sound of bugs buzzing around them, for another minute or so. Drakken was the first one to speak.

"You know, she has a point."

"Indeed. Perhaps we would best dispense with negotiations of territory until we have actually located the weapon we seek."

"Then get moving already!" Shego fired another blast at the duo's feet, prompting them both to leap out of the path of fire and straight for the temple.

It was only a matter of minutes, as the trio made their way through the damaged ruins, before they came to the central chamber of the main temple. The room was illuminated only by sun light that poured in from a sky light of sorts over a large alter. At the very center of the alter lay their prize; a five foot long war hammer, decorated in strange ruins that none of the three could translate, nor made any effort too.

"There it is." Drakken's voice took on the tone of a child who'd found his first choice of Christmas presents under the tree. "I knew it existed. The Hammer of Simril!"

"Uh-huh." Shego noted skeptically. "And forgive me for spoiling the mood but exactly how do we know that this is in fact _the_ Hammer thingy and not just _a_ Hammer thingy."

"Shego, please." Drakken pouted. "You're embarrassing me in front of the Hammer." Even as Drakken spoke in a hushed whisper, his fingers seemed to gently caress the artifact as if it was a lost lover.

"You actually work for this imbecile?" Monkey Fist turned to Shego.

"Unfortunately. He's the only one out there who offers dental." Shego explained.

"Yeah, we'll you're going to need a good dentist once we knock all your teeth out!" A high pitched voice exclaimed, causing the three super villains to turn around. Sure enough, two familiar figures in mission gear emerged from the corridor leading into the room.

"Kim Possible!" Drakken and Monkey Fist exclaimed simultaneously.

"And me! Remember, Ron Stoppable, loveable sidekick and occasional distraction." Ron waved attention to himself, slightly disappointed that his clever battle taunt had gone unappreciated.

"Cheap buffoon and petty pretender." Monkey Fist declared.

"Nobody disses the boyfriend!" Kim threatened as she pulled at her sleeves, taking a few intentional steps towards the ninja master.

"Yeah, yeah, I gotta ask, how the heck did you two…" Suddenly, Shego paused as something that she had heard caught her attention. "Wait a minute, did you just say boyfriend?"

"Yes I did." Kim eyed her nemesis squarely.

There was a long, uncomfortable pause as the three villains looked at one another, each in mutual confusion.

"Do you seriously mean to tell us that you… and he" Monkey Fist pointed with unrestrained disdain at Ron "are… dating?"

"Is that a problem Monkey boy?" Ron Stoppable asked angrily. His seething rage didn't once faze the three super villains as they continued to look at each other.

"Seriously?" Drakken asked.

"YES!" They exclaimed in mutual frustration.

Continued silence was exchanged between the three villains as they stared at one another in apparent disbelief. "I didn't see that coming." Drakken finally admitted.

"Nor I." Monkey Fist concurred.

"I'm kinda disappointed to be honest." Shego pointed out.

"What?" Ron replied a split second before Kim.

"Disappointed?" Kim was a second away from tearing Shego to pieces.

"Oh come on, I mean, hero dating the sidekick. That is just so cliché, not to mention unprofessional. I thought you knew better than thaaa…" Second up as Kim bolted across the room, slamming into the pale skinned super villain, knocking her across the room.

"Quickly Drakken, the hammer!" Monkey Fist indicated even as he drew ready for battle while Kim and Shego rolled around across the temple floor, savagely beating at one another.

"Of course!" The mad scientist eagerly turned from the battle back to the prize he had sought. Tiny, greedy fingers settled over the handle of the hammer, the power from the weapon absolutely intoxicating to the touch.

"Grrr! Haaheeeeeee!" Drakken panted and strained as he tried to lift, but the hammer barely flinched a centimeter. "This… thing is… heavier than… it looks!"

Monkey Fist turned in frustration, just out of the corner of his eye noting Kim and Shego leaping through the air in battle before turning his attention to his primary target. Ron Stoppable.

"Well, at least this venture will not have been a complete loss of time and effort. I do, after all, get to dispose of the pretender and false heir to my throne." Monkey Fist leapt into the air in a perfect flip, landing a few feet in front of Ron.

"Whyaah!" Ron cried as he drew a poorly composed battle stance of his own. "Come on then, let's spank the monk…"

Ron was cut off as a kick to the chest knocked him back into the temple wall, causing him to hit hard before falling to the ground in a dull moan.

"I think… perhaps someone misunderstands the concept of spanking the whoa!" Ron was again cut off as a fist clenched at the rough of his shirt and pulled him up.

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Kim continued her acrobatic dance across the room as searing plasma bolt after bolt chased after her with frightening precision. Kim landed just in time to duck another shot that barely singed her hair, before leaping forward with a spin kick to knock Shego back.

"Oh man, I'm going to need forever to get these split ends out." Kim sighed at the singed condition of her beautiful hair.

"Split ends will be the least of your concerns Kim Possible," Drakken announced triumphantly "just… as soon as I… can get this stupid…" Drakken continued to tug and heave at the hammer, finally managing to pull it off of the alter it had been poised on. But Drakken's feeble arms lacked the power to carry it and the hammer's end instead fell to the ground.

As soon as it made contact, a powerful and visible shockwave emerged from the point of impacting, flying outward and knocking both Kim and Shego into the temple wall even as it knocked out a large portion of the wall behind them, sending them both flying right through and into free fall.

"KP!" Ron cried out as he ducked another punch from Monkey Fist. With hurried panic, Ron quickly caught a kick from the ninja master between his arms before lifting up and throwing the monkey man into the side of the wall. Abruptly ignoring his fallen foe, Ron ran over to the hole in the side of the wall, arriving just as a grapple hook shot up and settled itself on the side of the gaping hole.

Ron looked down in time to see a familiar mane of crimson pull itself up and back into the room.

"KP! You're ok!" Ron cried out even as he helped her back inside.

"Neither of you will be for long!" Drakken insisted even as he pulled the hammer up high for a second strike. "Because this time, I'm really going to let it sw… swin…SWING!" As he raised the hammer over his head, Drakken once again felt himself caught off guard by the hammer's weight as he lost balance, falling backward as the hammer fell on to the temple floor once again.

Once again, a massive shock wave emanated, this time shooting backwards, knocking a stirring Monkey Fist back into the wall and causing the whole of the temple to shake. And rumble. And quake.

"Is that supposed to do that? I really don't think that that's supposed to do that."

True to Ron Stoppable's predictions, the temple was not supposed to be falling apart, but the combination of age and its accompanying decay combined with the force of the hammer's power had already upset the temple's delicate state, and sent the structure to slowly collapse around them.

Chunks of rock and debris seemed to rain down all around them as the temple room suddenly became a death trap. Drakken quickly evaluated his options and considered his choices.

"Ehh, I think I'll just stick with homemade doomsday weapons from now on." Leaving the hammer where it had come to rest, Drakken quickly hurried across the room and straight for the corridor that he had come from, in the process running right past the man known as Derek who, apparently oblivious to the crumbling structure all around him, moved for the inert hammer lying on the temple floor.

"Quick Ron, I'll grab Derek, you grab Monkey Fist!"

"What?" Ron tried to protest but it was no use as Kim had already taken off, leaving Ron to grumble in frustration. "Stupid, no good, always having to do the right thing…"

Kim tried to dance past the falling rubble, having some difficulty as she just barely managed to avoid a massive cinderblock landing a precious inch in front of her path. Derek on the other hand, seemed to have no problem whatsoever.

In fact, he really didn't seem to have any problems. He walked in a strangely elaborate series of twists and turns, taking an awkward path across the room that seemed to steer him clear of rubble and debris as it fell around him. It seemed as if he had already traced out his steps across the room in such a manner as to avoid even the sparest falling pebble.

Kim tried to call out but her voice seemed to go unheeded as Derek knelt down, lifting the hammer with one hand, and staring at it long and purposefully. What happened next happened too fast to appreciate, but as the rubble and dust continued to fall all around her, admittedly obscuring her view by a considerable degree, Kim Possible could have sworn she saw the hammer seemingly crumble to pieces and virtually disintegrate within Derek's hands.

Ron Stoppable took no notice of this as he grabbed the stunned Monkey Fist, lifting him up and hurling him roughly over his shoulder. "I hope you remember this Monkey. I know I'm going to try and forget this ever happened. KP, come on."

Kim Possible tried to focus on the figure of Derek but he no longer seemed to be there. Kim wanted to try and see if he had perhaps fallen or been injured, but there was no time. Against her instincts, she followed Ron's lead out of the room as falling boulders seemed to chase them the whole way out.

Kim and Ron made their way through the corridors and out of the front entrance to the temple just as it collapsed behind them. As they stopped for a moment to catch their breath, Ron took no concern as he casually dropped Monkey Fist to the jungle floor.

"Kim, you know I love you, right?" Ron asked delicately.

"Uh, yeah." Kim answered slightly uncomfortably.

"I'd do anything for you, you know that." He reaffirmed.

"I know." Kim still wasn't sure where this was going.

"Well, then I don't want you to take this wrong, but next time, I don't care what the stakes are, you are rescuing Monkey Fist." Ron answered flatly as he kicked slightly at the unconscious ninja master at his feet.

Kim just smiled at her boyfriend for a second before suddenly remembering something that her previously panicked mind had overlooked. "Oh my god Ron, Derek was in there and the whole place fell on him and I couldn't see him and…"

"Relax lass." A familiar voice announced from behind. The two teen heroes spun around in time to see the tall man standing, apparently unfazed, before them. "I'm all right."

"How did you get out of there?" Kim couldn't hide her shock at his miraculous escape. She hadn't seen him following them out, and she was sure that there hadn't been any other way out of that room.

"I just took another way out. There's always more than one way from one place to another." His cryptic answer didn't satisfy Kim in the least, causing her to wonder if the affliction that had affected Derek's sister was hereditary or a common malady within their family.

"Was the hammer…? I mean I didn't see it…" Kim tried to figure out how to ask whether or not she had just really seen him disintegrate it within his hand.

"It's gone." He assured, even as he took Kim's hand in his own, shaking. "I can't thank you enough Team Possible for your help."

"Oh, it was no big." Kim replied, a little less than satisfied by some of the questions she had that still went unanswered.

"I assure you, it was." He turned to Ron, shaking his hand as well. "Thank you as well young man. I can see my sister was right about you."

"Huh." For a second, Ron looked at the older man in confusion before comprehension finally dawned on him, his eyes opening wide as he let out a hushed whisper. "No way."

"Well thanks again." Derek turned to walk away when Kim suddenly caught him.

"Wait a minute, what about your sister? Where is she?"

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"Oooh." Shego let out a low moan as the world around swirled and spun before her eyes as they slowly opened themselves.

"hEllO." An innocent voice spoke from the side, quickly catching Shego's attention. The green clad villainess focused on a young girl with long flowing hair that was a myriad of different colors as she looked down on her. "yOU FEll. i SAW yoU."

"Ok. Thanks kid." Shego replied as she rose unsteadily to her feet. "Anyone ever tell you you're CD is skipping. Might want to get that looked at."

The young girl didn't seem to hear Shego. "I fell ONce. i FlaPPed real haRd, but I couldn'T FLY."

"Riiight." Shego just gave the girl a bewildered glance before looking around. Evaluating her options, she decided that it simply wouldn't do to try and hike through who knew how many miles of rain forest without a little insurance in case the princess caught up with her. "Come on, you're coming with me."

"i DON't want to LEAve. i'M exPECTing my BROther. He takes cARe of me."

"Well, he's just going to have to go without. Come on." Shego was in a foul enough of a mood without listening to some nutcase's family history. Grabbing the girl roughly, she forced her along, until the girl brought her feet to a halt, stopping Shego in the process.

"You're mean! I dON't liKe you. Snakes. ThEre are sNaKes EveRywHere."

Shego never really seemed to hear the little girl's words. She was too distracted by the ground as it seemed to slither and churn with an unending number of slimy serpents that crawled towards her, causing her to cry out in panic as she burned with her powers in a futile attempt to keep them back.

ThE eNd

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Author's Note: Ok, people. That makes all seven of the Endless to one degree or another. I think that officially makes this the final chapter. I hope you all enjoyed this little story of mine.

If any of you even slightly enjoyed this story and/or the Endless, I would highly urge you to catch Neil Gaiman's Sandman series. It is nothing short of utterly brilliant.


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